


The Life of Tomas Viktor Katska

by bladeoftheshadows11



Series: The Hybrid Series [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-19
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-09 13:56:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1985439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bladeoftheshadows11/pseuds/bladeoftheshadows11
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tomas' life has never been normal. Living in an orphanage for most of his life before moving to his girl best friend's house kind of prevented that. It didn't help that he was in love with his other best friend and yet claimed to not be gay. But his life got even stranger when some hot Russian guy knocks on his door...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Preface

Preface

Ever since the beginning, vampires and witches have been in constant war with each other. The strongest of the vampires preying on humans, turning them into vampire soldiers and sending them into battle and the same with the witches. But one male witch and one female vampire changed everything.

It was love at first sight for both of them. They escaped from war, moving as far away from the core of the war as possible. A small town; where no one would heed any attention to them. Never noticing that the lady never went out when the sun was or the weird things that happened when the man was angry.

The town was small enough that, in less than a week, they knew everyone and everyone knew them. And not even a month fully passed when the town was planning their marriage. And at the end of that year, a baby boy was born. A winter baby was supposedly good luck, especially if they were born on a new moon, which he was. The family lived happily for three years...and then everything went to hell. They came after the family, vampires and witches alike.

There was fire everywhere. Giant towers of flames consumed everything that dared to be in its path. Waves of heat washed over all of the people scattered around; running away, looking for some type of relief from the blistering heat. Men and women carrying swords and torches chased the helpless people screaming at them, yelling "monster", "demon", "abomination"; searching for the couple and their child. With the fire dancing red and blue and the people running around them, it almost looked like a dance. A dance of death. Hell's dance.

One man holding a broadsword noticed something in the distance, a child half hidden in the brush, a frantic mother's last attempt to save her precious son. The child couldn't have been no more than three years old, but he sat there, eyes locked with the man. Even as the man slowly crept forward, not even a tear appeared in the child's eye, the eye with The Mark below it. The man knew that this child was the reason why they were all there in the first place, the reason why they all spent many months preparing.

And yet he couldn't bring himself to do it. Looking at the child, who fearlessly sat there, as if he knew Death was waiting for him. The man dropped is sword, a quiet thump the only sound, and slowly crept towards the child. Up close the man could see the child's small fangs, only just poking through his lips; his eyes which looked as if the moon turned liquid and poured into his sockets; and his hair, blacker than the night and barely noticeable in the darkness.

The child was beautiful, anyone could tell. Perfect proportions, even in his young age. The man was awed; he knew he could not let this child die. Yes, his mind was made up; he would save this child and get him out of here. Maybe, at an orphanage somewhere unsuspecting. The man thought all of this while he ran with the child, the sounds of fire burning and the agonized screams slowly getting quieter.

Tomas Viktor Katska. This child has such a lucky name. Viktor meaning "the conqueror" or "the victor". A lucky name indeed."Grow to be a strong man, young victor. Your name is thee, for you will need such a lucky name in the future. Be strong and be victorious and never back down, Tomas."


	2. Right

Okay...Get this straight: I. AM.  _NOT._ GAY! I'm perfectly normal. Because, you know, I'm not weird like a gay guy.

It's not weird that my second childhood best friend is a girl...Who I just happen to tell my deepest secrets to...Who I would usually spend time with shopping or gossiping...Who has no problem changing in front of me; we're just that close.

And it's not in the least bit weird that I totally have a crush on my first childhood best friend. I mean, everyone's had a crush on him at least once. And it's not my fault he just happens to be a guy. He's to nice and sexy for anyone  _not_ to like him. I mean, like, even the  _emo/goth kids_  like him. Creepy right? I know.

...Sorry. Your probably all confused and thinking:  _What the fuck is this guy talking about?_  So, yeah I should start from the beginning...

My name is Tomas Viktor Katska. And if you couldn't tell that I'm Russian by my name then you are either blonde, or just a complete idiot. But, yeah, my moma was completely and totally Russian, but my papi...I'm not sure about him. Which is all that I know about my parents.

Yeah...my parents. See, I live in a orphanage...or I used to. Now I live with my girl best friend at her babushka's house...babushka means grandmother in Russian, btw. I don't remember much about my past, let alone anything about my parents. Which brings us to my favorite topic of discussion: My BFitWWW, Ryder O'Shea! BTW, BFitWWW is an acronym for Best Friend in the Whole Wide World. We call it 'beef it online'. Why? Who knows.

Okay, so back to Ryder. In fact, one of my earliest memories are with him...

I was 4 years old. Just started kindergarten. I was only there for a few days and everyone was already bulling me. They laughed at me because of the way I  _looked_. I was short, even shorter than the girls; it didn't help that I looked like one.

I admit, I was scared  _shitless_ to go to school. These kids who were supposedly 'nice, good kids' were totally terrorizing me. I was at my breaking point on my third day and was preparing to burst out crying when  _he_ appeared. Yep. You know who: Ryder O'Shea.

He stood there, in between me and the bullies. He had his back to me and his hands on his hips. I couldn't see his face, but I imagined that it was frowning; a cute little wrinkle forming between his eyebrows.

"Oi! Leave him alone! What did he ever do to you? It's wrong to just go messing with someone for no reason." Even though we were only kids, his voice already sounded adult and mature-ish, if just in tone. I imagined him glaring at the others, who ran away without a word.

He turned to me; eyes softening, ,but I could still see the lingering anger in the back. He held out a hand-I was on the ground-and smiled at me. "Hi. I'm Ryder. Ryder O'Shea."

I placed a hand delicately into his, looking up shyly from between my bangs. "Tomas Katska. I-Thank you for saving me."

His smile stayed but his eyes grew hard with anger. Even then, I was infatuated with those eyes. "Guys like them are losers. You can play with me, if that's okay."

My head flew up; I stared at him in surprise. "Really? You don't mind?"

His eyes softened again, his smile coming more warmer, easier. "Of course. You look like a nice guy."

Since then, me and Ryder have been joined at the hip. He was the awesomest of awesome. He was  _perfect._ Everyone loves him, me included. And, of course, our other childhood best friend: Mohea L'Bleu.

True to her Tahitian name, meaning "beautiful", Mohea is a half Tahitian and half Haitian beauty with tawny skin that always glistened; a mane of long, shiny dark brown hair that softly haloed her face and eyes as sharp as a hawks and just as scary with an unusually vivid blue color, almost like the sea on a bright, sunny day. Unfortunately, her looks are ruined by her mouth.

Our 'duo' became a 'trio' in the third grade. Mohea was a transfer student straight from Haiti. She was a cute, shy little thing. The others pretty much ignored her so me and Ryder rebelled and talked to her. Turns out she was a really funny person, once she opened up a bit. We immediately became best friends with her and have been till this day. But, somehow, I was a bit closer to her than Ryder.

Ah, speak of the devil. I looked up just in time to see Mohea march up to me. We were currently at school, during break. I say she marched because her heels were so high that it was nearly impossible for her to walk properly. She plopped down beside me.

"Hey, babe. Where's that ickle fickle bastard, Ryder? His ass should have been here by now." Told you about her mouth.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. Probably being swarmed in the halls by love sick girls." I said, bitterly.

"Well, the. Go join them! No one would notice, you already look like a girl. All pale and fragile and shit." Mohea grinned mischievously.

I rolled my eyes at her, slightly irritated. "No way, Mo'. All those girls are stupid. He's so used to that. It's been like that since seventh grade. I prefer to woo him with my beauty and smarts. Watch me get him."

"Yeah, yeah. Okay.  _Your_  smarts? I get wooing him with your beauty, but what smarts are you talking about? Cause, frankly, I don't remember cat piss about you being smart." She smirked.

"Oh, fuck you. I was being sarcastic."

She raised her eyebrows. "Fuck me? I thought you wanted to fuck-"

"Hey, guys! Sorry I took so long. Women are vicious little things." Ryder had somehow managed to sneak up behind us and scare the fucking dog-shit out of me. His was smiling at us and I couldn't help but forgive him after my heart melted a little bit.

"Thank you." Mohea said smugly.

Ryder turned to her, eyebrows raised disbelievingly. "Mo' you're a girl? No way! I thought you were a hermie!"

I snickered as Mohea screeched and attacked Ryder. Because she hung out with us and acted like a guy sometimes, but dressed like a girl, we joked and called her a hermaphrodite or a tranny. She absolutely  _hated_ it, which is why we did it.

"Alright! Alright! Uncle! I call uncle!" Ryder shouted between laughs. Mohea jumped up with a victory shout and gave a little booty-shakin' victory dance, as she liked to call it.

"That's right, bitch! Who's your daddy?"

"Hmm..." Ryder tilted his head to the side a little, eyeing Mohea up and down. Then he turned to me. "Last time I checked, it was Tomas." Without warning, he jumped me; pulling me down to the ground with him. I shrieked and turned to attack him.

Soon, he was again calling uncle. I gave a triumphant grin and jumped off him; joining Mohea for another round of booty-shakin' victory dances. Ryder sat up, raising a knee to rest his forearm on it. His hair was disheveled and a few blades of grass was stuck in it, but he still managed to look hot. And when I say Ryder is H.O.T hot, I mean he is fucking Adonis rein-fucking-carnated.

For starters, he has  _the_ best hair. It looked shaggy and rough, but once you put your hand through it-which I have done multiple times, it's  _so_  silky; it's also really, really dark brown and almost looks black. He has these awesome amber eyes that sometimes look  _r_ e _d_ , usually whenever he gets in a bad mood. He has this tan to _die for._ I mean, it's like that perfect brownish shade that you can tell he got from being put in the sun all day instead of going to a tanning salon, which makes you look more orange. And he is  _tall_. He's, like, at 6'3 or 6'4 or something. Totally perfectly muscled. Not like a monkey-brained muscle-head, but perfectly trained, taunt muscles that bulge slightly when he moves. Totally powerful and completely gorgeous.

"You're totally checking him out, babe. Gay much?" Mohea subtly whispered into my ear. I jumped and blushed, rubbing that ear and peeking to see if Ryder noticed me watching him. He didn't.

"Dammit, Mohea! I'm not gay! So what if I think Ryder's hot? Where else am I supposed to get eye-candy from? Everyone else in this hell-forsaken school is fucking hideous and if I even tried to give you the eye-candy, you'd probably rip my balls off." I whispered furiously back into her ear, keeping one eye on Ryder who was fortunately-yet unfortunately-eyeing some busty slut across the field, still on the ground.

I don't think so, but Mohea claims that Ryder is a man-slut. Seems that all the attention he gets has to be satiated somehow. I think he just has a lot of love to give around. Though I do wish he would only make those eyes at me.

"Why don't you stare at yourself, then? Give yourself some eye-candy, since Ry' won't give you any." She hissed back, rolling her kohl-rimmed eyes. I grimaced.

"It's not like I have anything to show off, Mo', and you know it."

"Bullshit. You're hot as fuck and yet you still submerge yourself in denial river." She pulled out her compact mirror, shoving it into my hands. "Look at yourself, you're beautiful.

"I don't  _want_  to be  _beautiful_. I want to be devilishly  _handsome_." I complained, but complied and opened the mirror. Then promptly frowned at me reflection.

Mohea sighed, exasperated. "Of course you would think you're ugly if you frown at yourself every time you look in the mirror. Give me that gorgeous smile of yours while looking in the mirror." She prompted.

I sighed and obeyed. Smiling this time, I look back into the mirror...and blinked. I looked the  _fucking same._ Same alabaster white skin that would one day give me skin cancer. Same long, inky black hair that was a bitch to comb out. Same weird, silvery eyes that do that weird, reflection thing cat's eyes do in the dark. Same little birthmark under my right eye that looked like a scar or something, a blip on my pale skin. I voiced as much to Mo'.

" _God_  you're so fucking  _negative_. Oh well, you think you're ugly. Fine then.  _Be_ fucking ugly. You won't ever get Ryder with that attitude." I name thee: 'Bitch'.

"Hmm, what? What happened?" At his name, Ryder turned to us. I glared at Mohea and then turned my glare on him before stomping away. My eyes felt prickly.

I wasn't paying any attention to where I was stomping, so I was pretty surprised when I bumped into something hard and fleshy. I looked up and scowled. Luck would have it that I would bump into the biggest jerk in the whole fucking school.

"Watch where you're walking, turd-face." Jason McMiller sneered at me.

"Maybe  _you_ should watch where  _you're_ walking, monkey brain. Even if I wasn't paying attention, you could have stepped to the side. Or are you too incompetent to do such a simple function?" I replied coldly. No use in loosing my temper in front of a bastard like him. Like he even  _deserved_ my anger.

He growled and grabbed my neck, slamming me into the lockers and shoving his ugly face into mine. "Watch it, Katska. I  _will_ beat your face in if you keep messing with me."

I sneered and was about to say some witty remark that probably would've made him actually beat me up, when Ryder ran up with Mohea and interrupted me as I opened my mouth. Ever the  _fucking_ Spasitel...uh that means Savior...in Russian.

"I'd like to see you try, McMiller. And I'd suggest you let him go and get the fuck outta here before I do something that'll give me great pleasure. Need an example?" He cracked his knuckles.

Did I mention Ryder is a bit notorious for fighting? He has a short temper and loved to act out on it. He's beat in the face of almost every guy in the school, mainly the jocks, a few emos who got on his bad side, and a lot of musicians. He isn't very fond of musicians.

McMiller sneered, but he looked pale. He let go of my throat and sent me an ugly look. "One day, Katska, he won't be here to protect you... _Princess_." He spat the word.

I don't know if its possible, but I'm pretty sure my face paled and blushed at the same time. Concerned, I'm sure, Ryder stepped up and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You okay, Tomas? Does your neck hurt? I swear, that bastard is gonna get it bad one day." He gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening and a vein throbbing in his forehead. I was still on that one word McMiller had said... _Princess._

I glared down at Ryder's hand on my shoulder, thinking of all the times he had to come and save me...like I'm a fucking  _damsel in distress_  or something. I raised my glare to him before shoving his hand off my shoulder and stalking away.

Behind me, I heard him call out my name, but I kept walking. I heard Mohea tell him she'll talk to me. I snorted; no doubt she'll just end up listening to me rant about how fucking  _pathetic_  I am.

She found me on the school roof, leaning on the gate. Our school roof is kind of similar to those Japanese ones you see on anime and mangas and shit. You know, flat with a gate surrounding it and generators and fans all over the damn place. The door was usually locked, but I learned my first day here how to pick the lock. Mohea came to lean on the gate beside me; we didn't look at each other and just stood there for a minute, looking up at the sky.

"You wanna talk about it?" I slid my eyes of to her; she was still looking up at the sky. I sighed.

" _Princess..._ That's what McMiller called me... _Princess_. What am I supposed to say to something like that, huh? What, is Ryder supposed to be my knight-in-shining-armor? 'Cause that's sure as hell what he acts like. Since kindergarten he's been ' _protecting'_  me." I raised my hands in air quotations. "McMiller's right...I'm a fucking princess. A fucking damsel in distress. And I  _hate_ it, Mo'."

She finally turned to look at me, her lips pursed. "Well...you could always invest in heels. They work pretty well for me."

I laughed humorlessly. "Thanks, love, but heels aren't my thing. You keep that for yourself. You look better in them anyway."

"You sure? I think you could work some red Jimmy Choos. And a stiletto to the crotch does some good damage." Her expression was serious, but I could see her eyes laughing.

I rolled my eye at her, a smile playing on the edges of my lips. "Oh yes, I would just  _love_ to crossdress in some red Jimmy Choos. I can see it now, I put them on and break my neck. Yes, lovely."

Mo' just laughed and threw an arm over my shoulders. "Now, you know I would never purposely break your neck without good reason, babe."

"Could've fooled me." She pinched my side. "Ouch, bitch."

"Whatever...So, your birthday is in a week. Excited? I am. I found a club we can sneak into, no I.D."

"What joy can I find in turning sixteen? Just another year with more responsibilities. Why can't life be like that  _'Benjamin Button'_  movie. Born old, grow young. Some mind fucking shit right there."

"Oh my God, that movie is like, so old. People barely remember that shit. It came out when we were, what, twelve? Thirteen? I know we were in middle school, though."

"Whatever, it was a good movie."

"Tomas?" Someone with Ryder's voice called my name. I mean, it can't be Ryder. He never bothers me when I get all bitchy; he gets all flustered and quiet when I get in one of my moods. I don't turn to the voice because if it  _is_  Ryder, I don't want to talk to him.

"Tomas! I know it's you. Mo' is right there next to you." Well. Now I know for sure it's him. I scowl and cross my arms stubbornly. I will  _not_ talk to him...At  _all._

A hand lands on my shoulder, startling me, and spins me around. I don't look up and instead stare at Ryder's all white Chucks. How he keeps them so clean, I will never know. Above me, Ryder sighs.

"Dammit, Tomas. I don't know what I did, but I  _am_ sorry. Just, come on, look at me at least." He moved his hand from my shoulder to my chin, giving it a slight nudge. I refused to look at him, for fear that the little wall I built up would crumble and I would forgive him.

But when he nudged again, this time harder, I couldn't help but look up into his gorgeous, almost red, amber eyes. I  _did_ glare at him, though; my walls weren't breaking down yet. Ryder flashed a little smile, pinching my chin before moving it to wrap me in his arms. I gasped and squirmed.

"I demand you to relinquish your grasp on me, wench." I gasped furiously, only half joking. Ryder just laughed and tightened his arms. I could hear Mo' laughing somewhere behind me and I could feel my cheeks heating up. I squirmed harder, desperate to get out of his arms before the heat in my cheeks went somewhere down South. Bastard wouldn't be laughing then.

Fortunately, the bell rung and he  _had_ to let me go. Couldn't be late for class. Ryder grumbled about not getting any info and Mohea linked her arms through each one of ours, dragging us to class.

"Oh, my God. Classes were a bitch today." Mo' complained as we walked to Ryder's car. Yes,  _car._ His parents are filthy rich and somehow was able to get him a beautiful, all black, restored '67 Shelby Mustang we very wrongfully dubbed 'Ninja'. She wasn't in the least bit quiet, but had speed like you never seen. If there was anything I loved more than Ryder, it would Ninja.

"Let's eat!" Ryder threw a fist up and ran the rest of the way to his car. Even after eating his a _nd_ my burger during lunch, he was still hungry and I had to deal with his complaints all through seventh period. I swear his stomach's a black hole.

Me and Mo' ran to catch up before he forgot us in his quest for food. "I call shot gun, bitch!" I panted out, throwing the passenger door open before throwing a smirk at Mo'.

"Fucker!" She spat back, slipping me the finger. The back seat of Ninja had no seat belts so the poor victim had to grab for dear life since Ryder didn't care about such trivial things as the  _fucking speed limit._ It was war calling for shotgun when riding with him.

"Food!" Ryder shouted, stomping on the gas. Thank God for small miracles, I managed to get my seat belt on before he pulled off. Mohea wasn't so lucky as to get her grip.

"Ryder O'Shea! I demand you to slow the  _fuck_ down before I cut your dick off!" She screeched, clutching at the back of my chair. I laughed loudly, twisting in my chair to stick my tongue out at her. She growled, promises of death glinting in her eyes.

Luckily enough, Ryder pulled into the drive through at Burger King. Mo' left her death threat in favor for food, but I had no doubt she would get her revenge soon enough.

"Tho...you guyth or mah houth?" Ryder's mouth was stuffed with burger, muffling his words, as he drove with one hand and stuffed his face with the other. Mo' and I snorted at the same time.

"Yours." We said in unison. Ryder's house was  _the_ best house. His parents, as I said before, are filthy rich and never home. His dad is some business man and his mom is...I don't even know. Between the three of us, we have only seen his parents a handful of times.

I know your thinking, like:  _If his house is so fucking awesome, why don't you live there?_

Three reasons: One, neither of us can cook and Mo's babushka is the fucking cooking goddess. Two, we'd probably end up never going to school; Mo wakes me up and nags me to get dress and then we both hit Ryder's house-we both have a key-and together  _attempt_ to wake  _him_ up. We are late more often than not.

Third...I'd never let him get any sleep, if you know what I mean. Come on, if you lived the guy you totally have a crush on and is totally hot, would you not even  _try_ to get in his pants? Well, if you wouldn't then your a fucking prude. Even if I had to get him drunk, I'd still get some...Not that I'm gay, you know, he's just  _too hot._

Anyway, we pull up at Ryder's gigantar house and bomb rush inside. He has this totally awesome game room with like, every game system and accompanying game that comes with it and a  _huge_ flat screen T.V. That room...is our home. We are this close to literally living in that room.

Ryder makes a slight detour to the kitchen to pick up a bunch of junk, which is all its filled with, as me and Mo' beeline to the game room. Almost immediately, me and Mo' argue about which game to play.  _She_ wants to play Marvel vs. Capcom and  _I_  want to play Mortal Kombat, which is twice as good as Marvel vs Capcom.

"Who wants to play that game with all that blood and gore. Puke much?"

"The blood and gore is what makes it so good! You just want to play Marvel vs. Capcom so you can use Phoenix and do that stupid assed 'Phoenix Reborn' move when you  _know_ I have your ass!"

"That's what the fucking move is for!  _You_ just what to get on Mortal Kombat just so you can do Hara Kiri back to back every freakin' time you win!"

"Ladies, ladies.  _I'll_ settle this" We play Injustice and that's that." Ryder walks in, a Red Vine in his mouth and a pile of junk in his arms. I immediately bristle.

"I am  _not_  a lady, Ryder. Don't call me that, dammit." Ugh, I sound so childish. Ryder smirks at me.

"Couldn't tell, not the way you two bicker. I almost thought you would start pulling hair. I have some chocolate syrup right here, strip and let the wrestling commence!" He threw the rest of the junk down in a chair, lifting up the bottle of chocolate syrup.

I blush dark red but Mo' is unaffected. "What on  _earth_ made you bring chocolate syrup?"

"Mallows." He said, confused, lifting up a big package of marshmallows. She shrugged and plopped down onto a bean bag.

To hide my very evident blush, I go to put Injustice into the 360. Oh, how I wished to wrestle naked with  _him_ covered in chocolate syrup. Ryder really doesn't know how close he came to being jumped. I turn back around to catch Mo' smirking at me, knowingly. That girl will be the death of me, I swear.

"Since I chose, I call first." Ryder called from behind his pile o' junk.

"I call second." Mo' said quickly, sitting up straighter in the bean bag. I shoot her a glare and she smiles back at me triumphantly.

I sigh and stretch out on the couch. "I play winner, then."

Sounds of agreement came from them and soon we were all lost in the world of video games...


	3. Secrets

"Come on. Up, up, up! Tomorrow's the big day!" I groan and roll over as Mo's loud voice forced me awake. Snuggling deeper into my comforter, I tune out Mohea's overly excited voice. If  _she_ was this excited,  _I_  didn't want to be involved.

Suddenly, my warmth disappeared to be replaced with a blast of freezing cold air and I shot up in my bed. Mo' laughed beside my bed, one hand on her hip and the other holding my favorite red comforter. I glare darkly at her, holding out my hand.

"Oh, no you don't. It takes you  _forever_ to get dressed and we still have to go wake up Stonehead. Up! Up! Up! We have a lot to do today. Get yer ass outta bed." She waggled a finger at me.

"What?! Since when was school 'a lot of things to do'?" I grumbled, crawling out of bed.

"Since the creation of 'ditching', love." She smirked at me. My foot got caught in the sheets and I fell in an undignified heap on the floor. From my position, I looked up at Mo' in confusion.

"Ditching? Not that I mind, but  _why_ are we ditching today?"

Mo' sighed, exasperated. "Be- _cause_ tomorrow is your birthday.  _Today_ we are ditching to go shopping for the club I got us into. I've been talking about it all week! Do you ever listen to me? No never mind, don't answer that."

I grinned ruefully and jumped up, heading for my en suite bathroom. Mo' followed me, a slight frown on her face.

" _Don't_ take all day fixing yourself up. By the time Ryder wakes up enough to notice what you're wearing, something'll already be fucked up."

I blush and whirl around to face her. "I do  _not_ do this for Ryder!"

"Do to."

"Do not."

"Do to."

"Do no-I'm not arguing about this with you!" I slammed the bathroom door in her face, locking it. I then sighed and thunked my head on the door. Okay, maybe I  _did_ take so long because I was primping for Ryder, but she didn't need to know that. Not that it makes any difference; I still didn't get his attention-not the kind I want-and unless I grew boobs and replaced my dick with a vagina, I never would.

I turn the shower on, making sure it was hot enough, before shedding my 'jama pants and hopping in. Yes, I sleep commando. Another reason why I can't live at Ryder's house. The hot water eased my muscles and I gave a pleasured sigh. Almost on automatic, I began my usual daily ritual of soap, lather, rinse, repeat. I repeated the process again, this time on my hair. It took nearly twice as long, due to the length.

I finally exited the shower, almost half a hour later, fully awake and refreshed. I grab a towel, wrapping it around my waist, and padded to stand in front of the mirror. My pale cheeks were flushed a light pink from the heat and water droplets glistened everywhere, some drops sliding down my skin. My thick hair hung straight, which it did every time I took a shower because the weight of all the water held the curls down.

Once it dried, the usual waves would bounce right back. They weren't that obvious unless you looked closely, but that was only because I took the time sit there and comb it out before it got a wavy and slightly frizzy. Which reminded me, I grabbed my comb and began the long, arduous task of combing it out. I liked to comb it out before it dried, because the water made it easier due to the lack of naps.

Ten minutes and a sore arm later, I walked into my room with a sigh. It took me less time than usual because I didn't want Mo' to curse me with her witch magic. Then I stopped and froze. It looked like a tornado came in and invaded my closet. All my clothes were  _everywhere_. Mo's plaid skirt clad ass was stick out of my closet; clothes still flying out.

"Mo'! What are you doing?!" I shrieked. Her head popped out, a smile on her face.

"Finally! You've been in there for  _forever_. I was just finding something for you to wear, to save some time."

"Finding something for me to wear? It looks like the Tasmanian Devil came in here and decided to play dress-up!" I carefully made my way over to her, dancing around my precious clothes.

"Yeah, he left about ten minutes ago. His speech classes are going well. Now try this on!"

One exhausting hour later found me and Mo' standing in front of a snoring Ryder in a super huge bed. She was finally satisfied with me wearing some old, nearly black jeans that were one more size close to being a second skin; a tight, silvery-purple shirt that I swear she conjured from thin air with her witch magic and claimed highlighted my eyes, and an one-size to big black zip-up, unzipped. My hair was half slicked back from the left side and the right was left to hang; a silver-grey fedora on top. With the hat, it looked like half my head was shaved off in some freak rebellion hairstyle and I hated it but Mo' said I looked fine and wouldn't let me touch it. My favorite grey Chucks were the only thing I had a say in.

I put my hands on my hips and glared at Ryder's prone form. I was on the verge of going to fill up a cup of icy cold water and throwing it on him. A particularly loud snore coming from him made me jump. Make that a boiling hot cuppa water.

"Okay, I know what you're thinking but I want to try something." Mo' pulled me close and whispered her evil plans in my ear. I grinned evilly and nodded.

I tip-toed to one side of the bed and Mo' went to the other. Together, we slowly peeled back the sheets to his waist, revealing his awesomely toned stomach; he slept the same way I did, 'jama pants and totally commando. We carefully crawled into the bed, one eye on him and the the other on where we placed our hands.

Once we reached the very much so oblivious man, we rose onto our knees; our hands shaped into claws. I looked up to meet Mo's eyes one last time and mouthed a countdown.

'Three...two...one.' At one, we both took a deep breath and dove down to tickle Ryder, shouting:

" _I'm a Goofy Goober, yeah! You're a Goofy Goober, yeah! We're all Goofy Goobers, yeah! Goofy Goobers, Goofy Goobers, yeah!"_

Ryder woke up screaming, already wriggling around trying to get away from our merciless hands. His eyes were opened wide and he looked around wildly, but his eyes were still glazed over with sleep. Me and Mo' laughed crazily, hunched over and almost unable to keep tickling him.

Ryder slowly came to, his body still unconsciously wriggle around trying to get away. His eyes were more red than amber and glared hard at me. His left eye twitched and I had a second warning before his arms snapped out to grab me. I danced out of the way, still on my knees, and quickly crawled off the bed to run away.

Mo' gave a squeal behind me and I heard a soft thump. I turned to see Ryder climbing out of the bed after me and Mo' lying on her back on the bed. My eyes widened and I ran for the door, throwing it open and running out. I headed for the stairs, thanking God Ryder's parents were the type of rich people who thought their house had to be a labyrinth.

Growing up being Ryder's best friend came with knowing his house like my own, but unfortunately he actually  _lived_ there. Meaning he knew it better than I did. As I reached the last step, I heard Ryder's bigger, much heavier feet stomping after mine. I grinned and headed down the hall under the stairs. From there, three different directions that led into all types of places throughout the house and was the best way to go at the moment.

Ryder cursed as I passed, knowing exactly what I was doing. I shot him up a smirk and started running again, keeping my steps light so he couldn't track me by sound. He cursed again, more vehemently, his steps getting louder as he rushed down the rest of the steps. I laughed loudly, listening smugly as it echoed down all three halls and effectively trapping Ryder a few seconds longer.

My choice was the hall to my right because it just went to the living room and was the least likely one I would go through; Ryder hopefully thought I went in one of the other, more complex two of the halls. I ran into the living room, panting slightly, and looked around. My gaze went to the stairs me and Ryder only just left and I grinned. I took the stairs two at a time, glancing down to check to see if Ryder came back up the hall.

My steps slowed as I reached the top steps, thanking his parents for such soft, plush carpeting; it muffled all my step. I looked down one more time, checking for Ryder, before scoping down both directions of the top hall. Coast clear, I took the last step up and made my way back towards Ryder's room.

Mo' was still on the bed, now bored and going through Ryder's stash. She looked up at me as I entered and grinned, sitting up. "You lost 'im?" I nodded. "Ha. Come look at these. He seriously has a boob fetish, I mean, look at the size of these tits!" She thrust the mag in my face, shaking it.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust and used one finger to push it away. "Mo' you shouldn't go through his stash like that. Who knows what the hell's in that shit."

"Oh, but I  _do_ know. And it's a shame. How could any guy like these scrawny, anorexic bitches. Nothing to grab on! Well, some of them are fine, but most are just skin and bones. Totally a turn off." Mo' grimaced, flopping back down on the bed.

"Mo' you sure you're not a hermie?" She scowled and threw the mag she was holding at me, flipping me the bird.

"Get outta here 'fore I go and kill you instead of letting Ryder do the honors." I laughed, but quickly made my way to the game room, which was adjacent to Ryder's room. It was dark and all the chairs and beanbags made it an ideal hiding place.

I grinned widely and made my way towards the biggest beanbag in the room. Suddenly, something shot out and grabbed me around the waist, yanking me up into something hot, fleshy and hard and knocking off my hat.

"Got you." Ryder growled into me ear, sending faint shivers down my back. The fleshing something was his chest and his arms were steel bands holding me up by my waist. I wriggled, futilely trying to get out. His arms tightened around me.

"Oh, no you don't. No way are you getting away after waking me up like that." His warm breath caressed my ear and I could feel my body growing hotter and hotter. I swallowed loudly.

"I-How did you know I would go up here?" I said shakily.

He chuckled deeply into my ear. "Because I know  _you._ What did we used to say as kids? Beef it online? I know  _exactly_ what you would do. I know  _everything_ about you."

Not everything. I shivered again and doubled my efforts in trying to get out of his arms. This time his arms loosened and I was able to place me feet on the floor before he tightened them again. I screeched as he dragged me to the beanbag chair I was heading for earlier and threw me onto it.

Ryder smirked at me and straddled my legs, his hands raised into a familiar claw-like pose. My eyes widened and panic set in. I thrashed under him, desperate to get away from his hands.

"Ah, ah, ah. Payback's a bitch" He said, his hands coming down. I shrieked out an involuntary laugh, my eyes widening impossibly further. His hands are merciless in tickling me, catching all my ticklish spots and torturing them endlessly. I gasp out more laughs, tears forming in the corners of my eyes.

"Please...no more...can't...can't breath...haha...'m sorryyyyy...Ryderrrr!" I pant out, trying to look at him with pleading eyes as my body writhed around under his hands. Another laugh joined my own and I craned my head around to see Mo' standing in the doorway, holding another dirty mag.

"You sound like your having sex, but it's ticklish instead pleasurable." She laughed again.

"Moooo'...hehehehehe...help meeeee!" I shouted, reaching out for her as my body wiggled helplessly.

She shook her head, grinning evilly. "Oh, no. I'm enjoying this too much."

"Don't get too comfortable. You're next, you know." Ryder looked up from his torturing, matching Mo's grin with one of his own, directed at her. She sat up, her grin disappearing.

"What? Why? You already got him!" She shrieked out, aiming a finger at me. I could only gasp out more laughs, tears running into my hairline-my head was thrown back.

"Ha! Like I don't know it was your idea. Tomas would have thrown a cup of water at me." Ryder smirked. If I could have, I would've snorted. He was right. Mo' huffed and crossed her arms.

Ryder grinned and looked down at me; I attempted to glare at him, but failed as another laugh came up when his fingers brushed over a particularly ticklish spot. He stopped and stood up, his eyes back on Mo' who only glared. She knew as well as I did that he would get her either way.

I gasped, closing my eyes and trying to catch back my breath. Something thumped and Mo' started shrieking out laughter, as I did before. I smiled softly, sitting up and looking at them. It made me think about how great having best friends was. If possible, I would be with then forever. Nothing could possibly separate us.

I frowned as something wrenched my heart and tears prickled behind my eyes. Something was wrong. It felt like...like something was going to happen soon. Something that wasn't good.

"Tom'?" I looked up; Ryder and Mo' had stopped and now were looking at me in concern, the worry clear in their faces. I smiled and shook my head, standing up.

"Come on, up you two. We have a lot to do before night, right Mo'?" I walked back into Ryder's room, grabbing my hat as I went pass. Ryder looked surprised.

"A lot to do before night? What's going on?" He jumped up and followed me into his room. Mo' followed, making a frustrated noise in the back of her throat.

"Do neither of you listen to me? Hel- _lo,_ the club I broke my back trying to get us into. The one I've been talking about all  _week?"_

Ryder looked thoughtful for a moment, before sharing a look with me and shrugging his shoulders. Then his eyes wandered over to his bed and his look changed into shock. "You found my stash? How?"

Mo' snorted. "It's not like you were hiding them. They were right there, in the bottom drawer. Right next to your condoms and lube. By the way, why do you need lube. Like it up the ass, do you?" She grinned and sent me a wink.

Both me and Ryder blushed furiously. Luckily, he was in front of me and facing Mo'.

"No-I...ahhh...St-stay outta my shit!" Ryder stuttered out. Mo' burst out laughing and I blushed again. I turned away just as he turned to face me. "Were you in on this?"

I whipped back around, surprised. "No! If you don't recall,  _I_ was being chased around by  _you._ Besides, how did you not notice her going through your stuff?"

"I went through the other door." There was another door to the game room, connected to the hallway. I snorted and Ryder scowled. "Fuck this, I'm gettin' in the shower."

Ryder had a huge, en suite bathroom with the biggest tub I've ever seen. It was like the size of a small pool, swear. As he slammed the door behind him, Mo' shot me a mischievous grin.

"Let's see what else we can find before he comes back." She walked swiftly to his dresser.

"No way, Mo'." I joined her by the dresser. "We don't have enough time."

She waved a hand at me. "Oh, please. He takes as long as you do."

"He does not!"

"Does too."

"Does not."

"Does too."

"Does no- I'm not doing this again!"

"Already did."

"Shut up."

"Help me, then."

"Fine!" I snapped, pulling open a drawer. It was full of clothes. I told Mo' so.

"Look  _underneath_ them. God, I swear you aren't a teen." She rolled her eyes. I stuck out my tongue and carefully lifted up a stack of clothes. Something glinted in the corner, towards the back and I reached out for it. It was small and slightly cold.

"I found something, Mo'." She looked up from the drawer she was in, holding up a pair of boxer briefs. I blushed and pulled my hand out.

It was a ring, a blood diamond in its center. It was large and slightly squarish, clearly meant to be worn by a man. The diamond glinted almost with a sinister light and I was drawn to it, licking my lips. I vaguely heard Mo' gasp beside me.

She snatched the ring from me and I blinked, turning to her with a frown. " _Mo'_ give it back. I found it first."

Her eyes widened as she eyed the ring and she shook her head at me. "No. Not this, Tomas. We have to put it back. He shouldn't have even brought this." She muttered the last part, but I heard her clearly.

"What do you mean, 'he shouldn't have it'?"

She shook her head again, placing the ring back and putting the clothes on top. "No. Nothing, don't worry about it."

My brow creased, how could I  _not_ worry. Obviously, she and Ryder knew something. Something important and they weren't telling me. My heart gave the same wrench as before and my frown deepened. Whatever they weren't telling me, it was apart of whatever big that was going to happen.

"Anyways." She said brightly. "Look at Ryder's underwear.  _Look_ the crotch part is stretched." She giggled. I involuntarily blushed crimson.

"Mo'! Oh my God, put those back! Hurry, before he comes-"

"Oi ,what're you-Mo'!" Ryder came out.

"Come on, Ryder. Stop mopin', it's okay to be so big that you stretch out the cotton. In fact, that's a good thing." Mo' said soothingly to a scowling Ryder, who only responded by scowling deeper.

I, other the hand, choked on my Carme-Frappe. I shot a glare at Mo', eyes watering, and she grinned back at me. We were currently at the mall after getting a new one ripped from Ryder for going into his drawers and 'brandishing his underwear about like it was a trophy it something'.

Since then, he's been scowling and glaring as we left. Now, we're at the mall and he's  _still_ in a bad mood. But now it was probably from having to shop with me and Mo' rather than because he was still angry about her holding his boxer briefs. Though she wasn't helping by constantly commenting on his size.

"Well, you have to get all those chicks of yours  _somehow,_ but  _damn_ Ryder. You should be proud of what you got." Mo' patted his back. Ryder scowled and stood, throwing away his cuppa Joe.

"Are we doing this or not? Let's go." He turned away, heading in whatever direction.

Mo' smiled brightly and happily followed, grabbing my arm. She was a bit of a shopping head and was beginning to rub off on me. Ryder stomped ahead of us, his expression sour and his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his khaki cargo's. He dressed simply; a white t-shirt that stretched tantalizingly across his broad chest, his favorite cargo's, and some black and white Vans. I could never figure out how he could dress so lightly in December, the coldest month if winter, but he always claimed it never bothered him.

Mo' gasped and sped up to grab Ryder's arm and pull us both into Zumiez.  _That_ was only of many stores we went through. Mo' literally put the saying 'shop till you drop' in to reality.

"Oh my  _God,_ I'm about to pass out. Mo'  _why_ do you  _do_ this to us?" I complained, dropping bags and collapsing into a beanbag. We were back at Ryder's place, in the game room after hours of meaningless wandering and shopping. After we left the mall, she had to take us to each and every little clothing store she knew of. I liked to shop, but she really takes it overboard.

Ryder collapsed next to me on the beanbag and curled his body into mine, wrapping his arms around me and burrowing his head into my stomach. "Make her stop, Tomas! It  _huuurrrttttss_." He said in a childish voice.

I patted his head, sending a mock glare at Mo'. "Stop it, Mo'. You're  _hurting_ Ryder," I mocked. Mo' laughed and Ryder growled, his arms tightening.

"Don't do it...You don't want me to tickle you again, do you?" He threatened.

"No, no. Please, no." I said quickly, making both him and Mo' laugh. I stuck my tongue out at them and pouted. Mo' sobered up and smiled at me gently.

"Sorry, sorry. Today is your pre-brithday so no more, okay? We promise, right Ryder?"

Ryder, who still had his head buried in my side, gave out a muffled reply. "Not making any promises."

Mo' sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "Close enough."

"Mo' I wanted to ask you, why are we doing this today instead of tomorrow? We could just stop here and go clubbing tomorrow." Mo' froze and I could feel Ryder stiffen against me.

"Uh...no, tomorrow we're having a movie marathon."

"We could watch the movie's during the day and go clubbing later on."

"No, we're doing something."

"What?"

"It's a surprise. Besides, it's only once you turn sixteen and we want to give you the best."

"We didn't do all of this for your or Ryder's birthday."

"Yes, but that's because you're the baby and we want to spoil you." I glared at Mo'. She was obviously avoiding the question and she was still stiff. Ryder was silent and equally stiff. They were hiding something from me and it was pissing me off.

"What the fuck ever, Mo'. Let's just do this." I forcefully pulled myself from Ryder's embrace and stood, grabbing the bags wit my clothes in them and staking claim on Ryder's huge bathroom.


	4. Clubbing Mistakes

"Don't do this, Tommy. Come on, have fun." Mo' shouted into my ear over the music. We made it into the club without a hitch and now I sat in a corner table, nursing my third apple martini. Mo' had managed to produce fake i.d.'s for the three of us and flirted with the bodyguard a bit to get us in. I immediately went to the bar for my martini and scoped out this table to wallow in my sorrows. I hadn't seen Ryder since we entered and honestly, I didn't care. I'd stopped caring about a lot of shit somewhere around my second 'tini.

Mo' alternated between looking for Ryder and trying to get me up to dance. I wasn't in the mood to dance. I was still somewhat sore that they were keeping something from me and now I wanted to lick my wounds. But Mo' was trying really hard to make it up to me.

"Tomas Viktor Katska, get up right now and dance with me!" She sounded on the verge of tears. I looked over to her from my 'tini and sure enough, tears sparkled in the corners of her eyes. I sighed quietly and downed the rest of my drink in one go, standing up. Mo' gave a little cheer and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the mass of writhing, sweating bodies on the dance floor. She squeezed between a few people before turning to me, her tears replaced with a smile.

"You bitch, those were fake tears."

She laughed. "Of course they were. Who do you think I am?" I sighed but couldn't help the smile that stretched across my face. We shared and laugh and began to dance.

I, for some reason, have a weird ability to attract people when I dance. So only a few minutes after we danced, I wasn't surprised when someone's arms wrapped around mine and danced with me to the beat. Mo' looked up and her smile changed to a smirk and she sent me a wink. She grabbed some random person's hand and started dancing with them.

I knew the person holding on to me was a man, his arms were long and muscled as was his chest, but it wasn't Ryder. Frowning slightly, I shifted to face the guy and tell him off, but my eye caught something a little ways to the side. Some little Barbie slut was all over Ryder, rubbing herself all over him and he seemed to be enjoying it immensely. So  _that's_ were the fuck he was; having dry sex with some little slut-bitch.

Rage and jealousy built up in my chest, but I refused to act out on it. I was to superior to that trashy bitch to give her the honor of my fists. Instead, I closed my eyes half way and reached up to twine my fingers into the hair of whoever was holding me. I felt the man's chuckle reverberate through my body from his and he tightened his arms around me, pulling me impossibly closer to his hard body.

Surprisingly, I wasn't disgusted by it. It didn't feel to bad, dancing all close with a guy. His build wasn't that far from Ryder's, but he smelled different and I knew Ryder would never dance with me like this. We moved to the beat as one; it was sexual but...not. I know it doesn't make any sense, but that's what it felt like. Ok, a simple way to put it would be...how a really classy, sophisticated lady would dance if she was trying to be extra sexy. It was like the mystery man was respecting who I was, yet still getting what he wanted.

I didn't close my eyes all the way, keeping them half-lidded so I could look at Ryder and his Barbie bitch. The darkness of the club helped make it look like my eyes were closed and I could totally spy on him without getting caught. So that's why, when mystery man shifted and leaned down to nip on my neck and I gasped, Ryder just happened to look over at that moment and catch us, but didn't know I was looking at him.

His jaw clenched so tightly that, even from my distance, I could see the vein throbbing in his temple. Hmph, shows you right, stupid Ryder. I gave a small smile and stretched my neck to give Mystery man more access. Ryder looked ready to kill, but the hoe bag pushed her unnecessarily large boobs into his face for his attention. Stupid hoe bitch.

Mystery man bit me just a bit harder and a sucked in a sharp breath as Mini-me twitched. What? I'm not gay! Why did I react? Did I think he was Ryder for second?...No, what the flying fuck?! I bit my lip and twirled around in Mystery man's arms. He leaned back and I had to look... _way_  up. He had to be taller than Ryder and definitely taller than my 5'11. In the dark club, I couldn't see his face, but his teeth flashed as he smiled down at me.

For some reason, down below twitched again and I cleared my throat. "Listen, I should go. My friends are probably looking for me."  _Not._ "And it's getting late." Again,  _not._

That smile flashed again and his arms tightened again before loosening to their old hold. "But we're having so much fun. Or at least I thought so." His voice was velvet smooth and carried a slight accent to it that sounded familiar but I could place; it sent shivers down my back. I swallowed.

"Yea, but I really should go. I did have fun though."  _Yeah right._  "Maybe will meet again." I slowly slid from his arms as his smile grew.

"Yeah, maybe." His words sent another shiver down my back and I frowned slightly. He sounded too sure...Is he going to stalk me? I sneaked a casual glance behind me. He wasn't there. I still quickened my step a bit and made it back to our table in record time. Mo' was there talking to some guy and sipping something. 

I plopped into the chair next to her and snatched her drink, tossing it all back.

"Hey! You don't even know what was in there, idiot." I shrugged and passed her back the cup, my eyes in the guy next to her. She noticed and grinned.

"Mike, this Tomas my best friend. Tomas, Mike." I snorted as he sneered at me, looking me up and down. I knew what I looked like because Mo' dressed me.

Very tight, black jeans were squeezed onto my little frame like a second skin; the kind you had to peel off and looked hell of uncomfortable, but surprisingly, were pretty comfy. A slightly, shimmery, light blue button down that supposedly 'brought out my eyes' and fit me fine except for the sleeves were to long and only showed the tips of my fingers. My hair was loose and tumbled down my back, curling slightly at the edges. Again, the only thing I had a say in was my favorite grey Chucks.

'Mike' gave a little chuckle and I sneered back at him. Not like he was anything. Plain brown hair that was cut right over his ears, his tan was horrible, his clothes were plain; a white t-shirt and blue jeans. The only nice thing he had were his eyes, which were a pretty dark grey. But the way he stood and acted practically screamed,  _douche bag!_

"I need another drink." Mo' nodded at me, her eyes narrowed dangerously at Mike, as I stood; my eyes already on the bar, which was lit up like crazy. A few people were there, most dancing, so I grabbed a stool. A martini didn't sound to appealing, so when the bartender came, I ordered a cranberry and vodka mix.

I sipped at my drink, staring blankly at nothing and my mind reeling. I wasn't gay, so why did I react to Mystery man? I don't even know his name. But that voice...I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that voice.

I jumped as someone grabbed my arm, whirling me around. I looked up, surprised, into Ryder's pissed face.

"What the  _fuck_ were you doing?!" He hissed at me. I yanked my arm from his grip and glared up at him.

"What are you talking about?" I knew what he was talking about, but chose to feign ignorance. The vein in his temple throbbed again and he clenched his fist tightly.

"You know  _exactly_ what I'm talking about, Tomas. Why would you do something like that? You don't even know that guy's name!"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Oh, yes. And you and Miss Boobs-A-Lot are the  _best of friends._ " I said, my voice calm and deadly. I stood and shoved him out if the way, making my way back to our table. Mo' was still there, but Mike was gone; more than likely leaving after getting his ass chewed out by Mo'.

She took one look at my face and stood, her brow furrowing in concern. Then she saw Ryder behind me and her eyes widened. I grabbed one of her arms, heading for the door.

"Come on, Mo'. We're leaving."

"Wait, what? What happened? Tomas. What happened with you and Ryder?"

"Nothing. He's just being a dick right now and totally ruined all the fun. So we're leaving. I'm tired anyways." I stumbled slightly, more from drunkenness than from being tired. Mo' noticed.

"Tomas are you...are you  _drunk?"_ She said incredulously. I shrugged a shoulder.

"A little." The door appeared and I pushed it open, sparring a glance at the body guard. It wasn't the same one as last time but he didn't stop us since we were leaving. I released Mo' and slowed down; the cold air a shock to my current inebriated state.

Ninja wasn't to far away and I managed to not stumble the rest of the way. Well, stumble and not  _fall._ I braced myself on Ninja as a wave of vertigo hit me. The cold air helped to sooth my nausea. Mo' rubbed a hand on my back and I looked over at her before turning my head to look at Ryder, who was making his way to the driver's side.

"You get in the front, Mo'." I offered, praying she asked no questions and took it.

"What? No way! You're too drunk to sit back there." She opened the passenger door. "All the bumping will make you sick. Sit in the front." I shook my head.

"Nope. I'll be fine. Look, my voice isn't even slurring. I won't get sick." Another wave of nausea hit me, but I did well to hide it.

"Fuck, Tomas! Just get in the fucking front so you don't get sick!" Ryder rumbled out; his voicing growing deeper the angrier he got. Mo's eyes widened and she gave a little gasp. She knew just as well as he did that I didn't take well to orders, especially when I'm in a bad mood.

I narrowed my eyes. " _Fine,_ I'll  _walk."_ I turned around a little unsteadily, but managed to keep my balance and began walking in the direction of the house. We were supposed to go to Ryder's house so we could have a movie marathon tomorrow, but I wasn't in the mood anymore.

Ryder burst out with curses and the door slammed, presumably Mo' getting in. He started Ninja up and I sped up, planning on walking all the way back. Ninja rumbled up beside me and the window rolled down; Ryder stuck his head out.

"Tomas-come on. I'm sorry, I didn't me to tell at you. Just, please, get in the car." He pleaded, though he couldn't mask his left over anger. My own anger upped my step and bubbled in my chest.

"Fuck you, Ryder. You're a fucking dickwad. A fucking...burnt biscuit." I really don't know where that one came from. Mo' unable to resist, even in the serious situation, laughed.

"Burnt biscuit?! Omygod, Tomas. I know you can do better than that. Ha! Burnt biscuit. That's like, so old." Ryder ignored her, his gaze switching between the road and me. I could only see him from the corner of my eye, since I refused to look at him. My feet were beginning to ache.

"Dammit...Tomas, don't. Please get in the car and we can talk about this when we get to my house, okay? And we can make my special hot cocoa. You know you want it." My lip twitched. Damn him for using hot cocoa as a weapon.

Suddenly, I tripped. It was a combination of hot cocoa, drunk walking (stumbling), and my aching feet. I knew I was going to fall, I could feel it. It all happened in slow motion.

As the ground slowly came up to meet my face, Ninja screeched to a halt and a door opened. The ground was still coming closer and I closed my eyes and scrunched up my nose, bracing for the impact and pain. The impact came, but the pain never did.

I tensed as a pair of arms wrapped around me, holding me up. The ground doesn't have arms. Nor is it warm. Nor does it breath. I opened my eyes and looked up. Ryder's amber eyes met mine, though they were now definitely red instead of amber. And they were no longer filled with anger, but worry.

I blushed and looked down, scrambling to get my footing. I tried to stand, but my legs gave out and Ryder tightened his arms. My blush darkened in embarrassment and I accidentally looked back up at Ryder. He sighed and gave me a gentle smile.

"Let's get in the car and go home, 'kay?" I nodded and looked down. One of his arms slid down to under my knees and he easily lifted me. I squeaked in protest, secretly enjoying it. "You can't walk, 'member?"

I frowned and crossed my arms. He carried me to the passenger side and Mo' slipped out, shooting me a knowing smirk. I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed, crawling into the back. Ryder gently set me down in the seat, even going as far as to buckle my seat beat.

"Hey! I'm drunk, not retarded."

"Last time I checked, those two were under the same category." I shot him a glare and he grinned. He jogged back to the driver's side and slid in, pulling Ninja out of idle. Soon, we were at a decent speed on the road and Ninja's rumble lulled me into a sleep.

When I woke up, it was already morning and I was in Ryder's huge bed. I blinked slowly, my source of regret pounding away at my head. I don't know how people could party every single fucking night and be so chipper in the morning. Aren't hangovers supposed to prevent that? Mine's sure the hell is, and I'm already not much of a morning person.

Someone groaned beside me and I turned my head, careful of my hair so it didn't pull and increase my headache. Mo' slept beside me, her face scrunched up. She didn't drink as much as I did, but enough to guarantee a hangover. I shifted and kicked into something warm and fleshy, That something moaned.

Carefully, I lifted my head up to meet Ryder's bleary eyes, which were once again amber. He blinked sleepily at me before letting out a huge, loud yawn. His yawn activated my inevitably dreaded yawn, which only made my headache worse. I winced and rubbed my head, sitting up.

Ryder did the same, and we stared at each other awkwardly for a moment. We almost never fought, and when we did, it was usually just a few insults thrown here and there and we pretty much ignored each other till either Mo' got pissed and made us make up or one or both of us forgot that we were arguing or what we were arguing about. Last night was really big for the both of us and neither of us knew what to do.

"Morning." He finally said, shifting slightly.

"Mornin'." I responded, scratching lightly at my stomach under my shirt.

He ran a hand through his hair, scratching at it. "Coffee?"

"Nnn." We stood, me a little unsteady, and made our way down stairs and to the kitchen. Sunlight streamed through windows and provided more than enough light to make coffee. I avoided the little squares of sunlight and tipped around the in the shadows, fearing the light would burn out my eye sockets and make my headache worse.

I sat at the island as Ryder went about to make some coffee. Soon, the coffee aroma filled the room and I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes. Ryder chuckled. I opened my eyes as the smell grew and I could feel heat on my face. A cuppa was under my nose, courtesy of Ryder. I took the coffee and inhaled, closing my eyes again. Coffee smell was the best. I took a sip and moaned. Whoever made coffee is my god, or goddess, and I will worship them for all of eternity. All hail the Coffee Deities!

The sound of pills rattling in a bottle made me re-open my eyes. Ryder held out a bottle of Advil. Props to the creator of pills, too. I took the bottle and popped three, despite the warning. Ryder scowled and snatched the bottle back.

"You're only supposed to take three."

"I know." I sipped my coffee. He sighed and sat down, sipping his on coffee. I looked down at my mug. "Thank you."

"Welcome." I could hear the smile in his voice and looked up. His expression was calm and gentle, a little smile pulling at his lips. Something swelled inside me and I knew we were okay. He was my best friend, nothing could mess that up.

"Oh my  _fucking god._ Is that  _coffee_ I smell?" I smiled widely as Mo' clomped down the stairs, her grumpy voice giving away to her hangover.

"Yeah, Mo' You better hurry 'fore it's all gone." Ryder sat up and called.

"I  _dare_ one of you to do it, go on. I will castrate you with the dullest butter knife I can find. No! With a s _poon."_ We both winced and cupped ourselves as Mo' made her way into the kitchen. Her eyes were closed and her nose was in the air, twitching. Me and Ryder snickered and she snapped her eyes open, glaring at us. "I know where the spoons are, try me."

We gulped and turned back to our coffees, but shared a grin when her back was turned. She plopped down next to me with her cup and sighed. We sat in silence for a minute.

"Oh, fuck you two pansies! This has  _got_  to be the most awkwardest moment in our lives." Me and Ryder jumped and turned, wide-eyed, to Mo'. "What? You two are the weirdest couple  _ever."_

"Mo', we're not a couple." Ryder said, sounding slightly irritated. I sipped my coffee to hide my frown. That comment hurt.

"I wouldn't know that, the way you reacted yesterday." Mo' replied smugly, leaning back to cross her arms; her empty mug clutched in one hand. Ryder tensed and glared at her; Mo' did nothing but raise an eyebrow at him and stare right back. Tense silence filled the room.

I switched my gaze back in forth between the two. The feelings of dread from yesterday filled me; they knew something  _else_ that I didn't and it was really starting to get to me. With a huff, I drained my coffee and slammed it into the sink, startling Mo' and Ryder. I headed for the door, plans of a hot, calming shower in mind.

"Tomas?" Mo' called. I stopped, one hand on the door jam and turned my head to the side.

"'M taking a shower." I left without waiting for a response. I stomped up the stairs, fuming. They  _never_ hid anything from me before, why start now? What are they together or something? No, that's stupid. I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I started the shower.

I turned to the mirror as I waited for the water to get hot. My hair wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, after sleeping drunk, but it was just wavier than usual and a little messy. Nothing a good washing and combing out couldn't take care of. My eyes had little bags under them, but that was expected. My skin was the same pale, milky color. I sighed and undressed, turning away and jumping in the shower.

I closed my eyes and let out a slight moan. Showers were the best; only second to coffee. My eyes lidded half-way, I rubbed the soreness from my muscles. My mind began to wander in steam filled bliss.

Before I knew it, my thoughts turned to Mystery man. Something about him enticed me, I'll admit. He was so tall, so dark, so...well, mysterious. My cheeks warmed as I thought back to when I let myself go and danced with him. To when he bit my neck. Unconsciously, my hand went up to lightly touch the spot where he bit hardest; it tingled softly and I could still feel his lips, his teeth..his tongue.

I bit my lip and my hands slid from my neck, down my chest and flat stomach, to flutter over my cock. I closed my eyes, my cheeks growing hotter, as I grabbed myself; my thoughts on Mystery man. With vivid detail, I could remember his hard body, his arms around my waist.

My dick hardened underneath my hand and I let out a breathy moan. I slapped a hand onto the wall, hunching over. The gentle way he treated me, the way his breath on my neck sent tingles in my stomach, the way his breath lit me on fire down below. I groaned and pumped myself, biting my lip until it bled. I licked the bead of blood on my lip, giving a little whimper as I unconsciously wished it was Mystery man's tongue on my lip.

"Nnn-ahhh-ah-ah-haa. Haa." I let out as I came, my cum spurting everywhere. I panted harshly, my eyes slightly glazed in post-coital. Suddenly, I gasped and reeled back, looking down in shock at the sticky substance on my hand. I-I just jacked off to the thought of Mystery man...a man.

I just jacked off to a man! What the  _fuck_ is wrong with me?! I haven't even done that to Ryder and...and I don't even  _know_ this guy! I'm not gay...at least, not normal gay. Only for Ryder...right? I gave a hysterical laugh, only freaking out a little.

I washed myself and my hair in a daze; making sure there was no trace of my...my cum. I swallowed hard and left the shower, immediately wrapping a fluffy towel around my waist. I padded into the room, at first not noticing Mo' sitting there with a evil smirk on her face in my daze.

"Ahem, lover boy." I jumped and whirled to look at her, my heart beating rapidly. I frowned at her smirk. Does she know?

"Mo'! What'r you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm sittin' waitin' for you, fucktard. I should be asking what were  _you_ doing; you look a little flushed." She raised an eyebrow. Damn, she knows. I tried to look nonchalant, putting a hand on my hip and raising an eyebrow.

"Oh? Well, if you  _should_ know I  _was_ just in the shower. And in the shower, there's steam. And because I'm so fucking pale, that steam makes me flush. Happy?"

"Oh, please. I went in there and heard you moaning, idiot. Now, tell. Who were jacking off to? I know it couldn't be Ryder 'cause you're to scared, now tell." She crossed her arms, looking smug and eager. Loosing my facade, I blush deeply and go to sit next to her; still only in a towel.

"So remember when you made me go dance?" She nodded. "And then, when we were dancing, some guy appeared and started dancing with me?" She looked at me, confused. "You ditched me?!" Her expression cleared and she laughed.

"Oh, yeah! That guy was hot. So, you told him off, right?" I bit my lip, shaking me head. "So, what? You danced with him." I bit my lip harder and shot her a glance; her eyes widened in realization. "No _fucking_ way! You were in there getting of to Mystery guy?! Wait, is you dancing with him what made him mad? Oh my  _God,_ Tomas!"

Slightly overwhelmed, I looked away and tuned her out. Of course, Mo' managed to pick up the nickname I gave to Mystery man without me having to tell her. I sighed; I knew she would react like this.

"-Ryder was probably  _so_ jealous. I mean, those two have been at it for forev-" I whip back to look at Mo', who had slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the rest of her sentence. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Mo', what were you saying?" Her eyes widened and she gave a vehement shake of her head. My jaw clenched. "Mohea! What the fuck was that?! Do you and Ryder know Mystery man?!" She shook her head again and I clenched my fists. I stood up abruptly, making her jump. "Whatever. I'm going to get dressed. We're having a movie-thon, right?"

Slightly wary of me now calm demeanor, she slowly lowered her hands and nodded. "Yeah, well...More like a Harry Potter-thon. We know you love Harry Potter and it will take up most of the day and a part of the night anyway. Sounds good?"

I gave her a curt nod and looked pointedly to the door. She sighed and made her way out. She stopped at the door, turning to look at me with regret in her eyes before leaving. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat and turned to get dressed. I hated being mad at my friends, but I can't help being such a hot-head.

Many hours later, after watching Harry Potter grow up and turn into this deliciously sexy man, I stood with a groan and stretched. I glanced at the clock and sucked in a sharp gasp. It was eleven o'clock. Mo' looked up from where she was curled up in the biggest bean bag chair.

"What? Oh, it's late." She yawned and rubbed her eyes. She hadn't fell asleep, but she, including him and Ryder, had almost passed out watching Harry Potter for over ten hours. They watched all of them, back-to-back, including the second part to the last one.

I looked over to Ryder, who had sat next to me on the couch and was now staring blankly at the credits. I gave a small chuckle and waved my hand in his face. He sucked in a gasp and grabbed my hand, looking up at me with his red eyes. I smirked at him.

"Welcome back to planet Earth, space cadet. How was Mars?" He blinked up at me, then started laughing. I frowned at him. "What?"

"Oh...my... _God..._ your  _hair."_ He gasped out, still laughing and Mo' jumped. I sucked in a gasp and my hands flew to my head. It was a freakin'  _bird's nest_ up there. Probably from laying on Ryder, watching the movie.

" _Shit."_ I burst out, attempting to fix my hair by combing my hand through it. This only made the other two laugh harder. Anger bubbled in my chest, and I turned to yell at them.

Suddenly, the doorbell rung. Mo' and Ryder abruptly stopped laughing and looked towards the door leading to the hall. My hair forgotten, I looked too. We all turned to look at each other, eyes wide.

We all suddenly burst into action; running and tripping over each other to get to the door. Laughing, we stumbled down the stairs; shoving each other out of the way to get to the door first. At the bottom step, I slipped under Ryder's arm and ran for the door, laughing.

Still laughing, I opened the door; not paying attention to who was at the door. "Yes" I gasped out, as Mo' and Ryder joined me at the door.

"Tomas Katska?" Abruptly, I stopped laughing and stared, eyes wide, at the man at the door. I, to say the least, was completely shocked.

Well, for starters, the man said my name the Russian way, the proper way. My name has a Russian accent to it, making it sound like Toe-mas, instead of the American accent, Tah-mas. This man obviously knew how to properly pronounce my name.

Next, it was his voice. As I stared at him, memories from the club flooded my mind. No, no, no, no...it couldn't be. But I knew I would recognize that smooth, velvet baritone anywhere. Without the music blasting my eardrums out, I could properly recognize his accent as Russian.

Yes, it was Mystery man...


	5. A Guest

Mystery man smiled slightly. "Are you Tomas Katska?" He reiterated.

I snapped out of my shock, blushing slightly. "I-uh, yes I am. Um, who're you?" I asked dumbly. Inside, I was stomping the shit out of myself for my idiocy. Of course I knew who he was. He was Mystery man! The man I let bite my neck! The man who I was grinding on at the club! The man who I was jacking off to a few hours ago!

Mystery man's smile widened. "Well, I am Sabastyan Romanov. May I come in?" I jumped slightly, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. I stepped aside, giving Mystery man-...uh, Sabastyan silent permission to enter. His smile grew impossibly wider and he strutted inside. As he brushed pass me, I caught a whiff of his scent; spices and something vanilla-y.

Unconsciously, I inhaled deeply; my eyes half closing at the slightly familiar natural scent of Sabastyan. Cheeks growing hotter, I snapped my eyes open and looked discreetly to see if Ryder or Mo' noticed; giving a sigh of relief at their current obliviousness. Going to close the door, my eyes flicked upwards; at the moon.

"Oh." I couldn't tear my eyes from it. Tonight, for some reason, the moon was even more brilliant than usual. It was a full moon and the skies were completely clear; it's brilliance shining for all to see. Many have commented on my eyes, claiming they were the same color and had the same brilliance as the moon, but that's bullshit. My eyes are pale and dull and ugly. The moon, though, the moon was beautiful, especially tonight.

"Tomas?" I turned at Mo's call, giving her a small smile and closing the door. My eyes flicked to Ryder, who was glaring at Sabastyan heatedly. I frowned and turned to Mystery man, who was staring intensely at me. I blinked at the sharp, yet warm gaze and offered the obviously Russian man a smile.

"Um, I'm guessing you're here because you have something to talk to me about, though how you knew I was here is a good question." Sabastyan gave an amused snort. "Would you like to sit down? The living room is, uh, this way." I stuttered out, hesitantly making my way towards the living room.

I glanced back to see if Sabastyan was following, catching the shared look between him and Mo'-Ryder was still glaring at him-before he followed me. I turned around, swallowing slightly. Do-...do Mo' and Ryder know Sabastyan? That glare from Ryder wasn't one he would give out to a stranger, would he? And Mo' didn't seem in the least surprised to see Sabastyan.

Entering the living room, I turned back around again to gesture for Sabastyan to take a seat. He sat on the couch and I plopped into an armchair. Mo' sat next to him and Ryder sat in another armchair, still glaring. I don't think he's stopped since the Russian entered.

"So, Mr. Romanov, what can we do for you?" Mo' asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. I couldn't shake the feeling that she was acting, weirdly enough.

Sabastyan turned to look at her, an amused smirk on his face. "Oh? You didn't tell him, then? I shouldn't have expected better. Not with the mutt around." My eyebrows raised as Ryder snarled at Sabastyan, drawing the Russian's attention to him. "Oh? I thought I smelled wet dog."

As he was distracted by Mo and Ryder, I took the chance to actually look at Mystery man since I couldn't exactly see him properly in the club. I was right, he was definitely taller than me and Ryder; somewhere around 6'3, maybe bordeline 6'5. His skin was as pale as mine, but on him, it actually kind of looked good; especially since his accent gives him off as Russian. His hair wasn't black like mine, but an interesting shade of very dark brown and shaggy, nearly reaching his shoulders. I remembered the texture of it when dancing with him and it was silky to touch. In shade, his eyes were an icy blue, but the emotions he held in them were definitely warmer.

He was decked out in completely black, like some secret agent or assassin or something. His coat (black) was...actually a trench coat and brushed his ankles. It was open, showing the form fitting button down and his equally tight jeans. Though, I couldn't exactly say his jeans were  _that_  tight, as the were baggy in the places they needed to be, unfortunately leaving much to the imagination. Anyway, his shirt showed off some  _very_ nice abs and  _very_ broad chest. He wore leather, lace-up military boots that melded nicely to his calves, and showed of some musclege too.

All in all, Mystery man was no longer a mystery and totally hot. Oh, fuck off. I know I'm totally attracted to him, but I'm still not gay. He's, like, giving off pheromones or something. Yeah, that explains my...escapade in the shower earlier.

Ryder's low, slightly hair-raising growl brought me back to my senses. I glanced at him to see him clutching the arms of his chair so tightly, that his knuckles turned white. He was still glaring at Sabastyan and looked one second from leaping out of his chair and attacking the Russian.

I looked at the couch; Sabastyan smirking in amusement at Ryder and Mo' staring knowingly at me. I flushed and stuck my tongue out at her before turning back to Ryder.

"Ryder Bartholomew O'Shea! If you don't sit your ass back in that chair right now and stop sending death threats at our guest  _right now,_ I swear to  _God_ I will super glue your dick to your thigh while you sleep!" My voice was dangerously low, my eyes narrowed to slits.

Ryder visibly paled and quickly sat back in his chair, relaxing his death grip on the arms with obvious difficulty, though his eyes stayed on Sabastyan. The Russian made a whip sound and the hand motion and Mo' guffawed. I snapped my don't-fuck-with-me-right-now glare on him.

"You! Stop...antagonizing him or whatever. You came here to see me, right?" His expression immediately became serious and he eyes lost their amusement, though I could see it sparkling in the back.

"You are completely right,  _krasotka_. Though I would prefer not to tell you this. These two were supposed to do it, but it would seem that they never got to it, no?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, apprehension filling inside. "What do you mean? Do you know these two?" I wanted to yell at him for calling me beautiful in Russian, but that could wait.

He gave a little grin. "Know?" He gave a low chuckle. "Oh, I more than 'know' them."

Only slightly clenching my jaw, my eyes flicked to Mo' questioningly. She met my gaze and sighed. "I guess it's time to tell you the truth. We can't hide it from you no longer."

Sabastyan's gaze turned cold as he lowered it to Mo'. "You shouldn't have hid it from him in the first place."

"We were trying to protect him!" Ryder roared out, standing up.

"Protect him?! How are you protecting him by keeping this a secret?! What if someone came and tried to kill him?!" Sabastyan's deep baritone out-matched Ryder's, his height also superior as he stood.

"We would have handled it-" Mo' began quietly, but Sabastyan whirled on her, cutting her off.

"Oh?! And can you tell me right now, that if one of them came and you  _'handled it'_ could you have ensured Tomas' complete and utter safety? Could you have kept it from him then-"

"Ok, Ok! I've had enough of this. I'm standing right fucking here, stop treating it as if I'm not." I said, standing up and glaring at them. "Now, tell me what  _the fuck_ is going on!"

All eyes turned to me, comically wide. Sabastyan calmed down first, shooting me a smile. "Ok, you're right. Mohea, tell him."

It was nearing midnight by the time Mo' finished.

A vampire. I'm...supposedly half-vampire, half-witch. Okay. Mo' is a witch. Okay. Ryder is a werewolf. Okay. Sabastyan is a vampire. Okay.

...What?

"What the fuck? So you're telling me...in a few minutes I'm going to turn into a...what?"

"Vampire-witch hybrid. The first ever." Sabastyan looked mostly satisfied with Mo's explanation, if a little anxious. "And because of that, we don't know how you might react once the transformation begins."

"And it's very possible that it will be very painful." Ryder said, his voice quiet and strained.

I nodded. "Okay. And...after this, I'm supposed to do what?"

"Well, first we must return to headquaters to train you in the use of your abilities. Then we must prepare for the war-" Sabastyan began.

"War?"I interrupted. "What war?"

"The war between vampires and witches that's been going on for centuries. The war that killed your parents, Tomas." Mo' said quietly. I looked at her sharply.

"My parents. Wait, so they're...whatever I am, too?"

"Not exactly. Your parents were apart of a revolution." Sabastyan corrected. "One against the war. Those of most of the supernatural races who were against war joined together to create a syndicate against warfare. Your parents met there and fell in love. Somehow, their love was able to create you."

"What do you mean?"

"Your father was a witch. Your mother, a vampire. The hate between the two races is older and greater than you could imagine. It's so bad to a point where their genetics prevent stuff like what happened between your parents shouldn't have been possible."

"But it did happen."

"Right. And it created you. We thought all was lost until the Oracle gave us a prophecy. A prophecy about you, Tomas. You are our savior to this war. You have the power to end it all."

"Oh, please. What a load of bullshit. I am  _not_ Harry freakin' Potter, okay? Next, you'll be telling me that I have to defeat some ugly evil guy who tried to kill me when I was a baby."

Ryder finally stopped glaring at Sabastyan to look at me. Seriuosly, the whole time he had been staring at Sabastyan all evil kill-you-dead and stuff. "No, you're not Harry Potter, but there really is a prophecy. Maybe not as obvious as his, but still there. And your Mark proves it all."

"What mark? I have no mark."

Sabastyan laughed and leaned forward, his hand stretched out towards me. "Ah, but you do,  _krasotka_. Right  _here."_ He brushed my cheek lightly with his fingertips, sending a wave of heat across my face. The spot where he touched was where the weird birthmark I had was at, and it burned and sent desire throughout my body.

I leaned away from him, frowning and rubbing my cheek. The heat went down, but not completely away. Instead, it felt like it was moving away from my cheek, rudhing through the rest of my body. I gave myself a mental headshake and focused on them.

"Okay, so what does it mean-?"

The grandfather clock struck twelve and the lingering heat in my body suddenly flared up, filling me painfully and completely. My back arched from the chair and I slid to the ground, unable to cry out because it was so painful.

I could hear the others yelling above me, Sabastyan's baritone loudest of the three, but I could do nothing. Suddenly, an intense pain shot through my body, so much unlike the heat, though that was still there. The spot on my cheek was painfullest of them all, and I opened my mouth in a silent scream.

"Tomas!" Ryder and Sabastyan shouted at the same time, there voices contrasting though the concern in them the same. It was the last thing I heard as everything went black.


	6. Changes

Horrible pain. Horrible, excruciating, nasty, wanna-throw-up pain. I never felt anything like it in my whole entire life.

It was like my whole body was on fire, but on different levels in different places. Sometimes my head would feel like it was going to combust and my body was only slightly uncomfortably warm, and sometimes it was the other way around. Sometimes my eyes burned and sometimes it was my mouth. Sometimes I could feel this horribly wonderful tingle shoot from my fingertips to swirl into my shoulders.

To sum it up, I hated it with every burning fiber in my body. I hoped that I would never ever have to feel such a pain again.

The pain was a trolling jerk, too. Sometimes it would slowly fade away, just to return in twice-fold. I was pretty sure that I had to be screaming. In a brief lapse of pain, I wondered if the neighbors called the cops or something. Surely they had to hear all my screaming. Unless the pain was just that bad, that I didn't know if I was screaming or not. I guess it didn't matter, either way.

Weird enough, there was this…soothing, somewhat familiar presence in my mind. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but my gut told me that whatever the presence was, it was taking away some of the pain. I guess I had to thank the presence, if I knew what it was. The pain was already crazy, I couldn't even imagine if it was any worse.

~oOo~

Okay. Don't get me wrong. Waking up cursing everyone and their mothers to hell and back wasn't my norm. But when the first thing that happens to you when you open eyes is everything looking like its being held under a microscope and every color is a kaleidoscope of wonders, including the bright ass fucking _sun_ , you'd react the same way.

I blinked rapidly, squinting around the room to let my eyes adjust. I was in one of the many guest rooms in Ryder's house, curiously enough. I've never slept in one; whenever slept at Ryder's house, it was in his room, on his bed. The room was nice, though, with obviously expensive wood creating majority of the furniture and a plush carpet with matching drapes (heehees) and the walls painted a complimentary color.

Being in the room was the least of my worries, not when I could literally see dust motes flying around the room. Each. And. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. It was crazy distracting. And I could…feel the air on my skin, like it was caressing it. It wasn't like wind, but like the stagnant air suddenly became tangible.

Speaking of which, I could also feel each individual thread of my sheets. And the comforter. It felt kind of weird, but good. The thread count on those sheets were ridiculously high; I had to give it to Ryder's parents. It really felt wonderful on my skin. Wait…skin?

Blinking, I realized that I was wearing nothing more than my boxers. What the flipping fuck?

I frowned, looking around. Where was Ryder? And Mo'? And-…my eyes widened and I sucked in a gasp- _Sabastyan?_

At the sound-well, thought-of his name, my body involuntarily gave a delightful shiver. I straightened my back, scowling. His affect on me was not very welcome. In fact, I loathed that he affected me that way. Because I didn't like men; I wasn't gay.

Grimacing slightly, I stepped out of bed, wary of my sore, strained, and unused muscles. I stood slowly and carefully, biting my lips from crying out at the pain stretching my tensed muscles caused. Wrapping the sheet around my waist, I hobbled to one of the three doors connected to the room. One door would lead to an en suite bathroom, one led to a humongous closet, and the last would lead to the hall, which is where I wanted to go.

The door opened and revealed a bathroom done nicely in silvers and blacks. Pouting at my luck, I turned away when I caught a small glimpse at myself in the mirror. Pout turning into a frown, I hurried into the bathroom to get a closer look…then promptly let out a shriek that would put a banshee to shame.

"What the _fuck?!"_

Thundering footsteps came towards me as I poked at my face. Why…whywhy _why_ did everything always happen to _me?_ I stifled a sob as I turned the water on, attempting to scrub the… _thing_ off.

The door in the bedroom banged open. "Tomas?" A panicked voice called. Sounded like Mo'. I stifled another sob and gave up, cutting off the water and glaring at myself in the mirror.

Another, way deeper voice, with a hint of Russian, called out my name, closer to the bathroom. "Tomas?"

In my peripheral, I saw a dark head peek in from the doorway. A sigh and a large body followed the head. I refused to turn and face him, using my hair to hide my face. Another sigh.

"Guys? Found him." Sabastyan said, his voice more subdued.

"Really?" Two steps of footsteps, then two more dark heads popped into the doorway, looking at me. They stepped inside behind Sabastyan.

"Tomas?" Ryder said. "What are you doing in here? And what was that scream about? Scared the shit out of me."

" _You?"_ My voice rarely took on the cold tone it had at the moment. Usually those who heard it tended to avoid me afterwards, fearing for their life. "If _you_ were scared, imagine how I must've felt when I looked in the mirror and saw _this on my fucking face!"_

I whipped my head up to glare at him, pointing at the seemingly expanded birthmark that stretched across my cheekbone, further marring my already ugly face.

Mo elbowed Ryder and Sabastyan out of the way, coming to grab my face between her hands and squinting at my cheek. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, she let go of my face and nodded with a pleased expression.

"That, love, is the mark of your inheritance. Your Triquetra. It is a sign of someone with immense power. Which you apparently have. Congrats." She smiled at me.

_ Congrats?! _ __ I frowned, turning back to the mirror. Now that I wasn't freaking out about it being on my face, the design was actually kind of cool, I guess. It wasn't exactly a triangle, but it had three sides that kind of…went into itself in this intricate design. But it was still this thing on my face.

Mo sighed. "Look at you. So focused on what's on your face that you don't even notice the _rest_ of the changes your body went through."

I glanced at her. "Changes?" She glared and directed my head back to the mirror and pulled on my arm, forcing me back a step.

Wow.

I looked different but…not. My skin was as pale as usual and my hair just as black and long and wild as always but it looked…different. Good, for once. Ep09

I think I shrunk to. I felt smaller, slighter than my already skinny ass. But I also felt strong. Crazy strong. Like I could lift a car without breaking a sweat. My muscles did look slightly more defined, as non-existent as they were.

I frowned at my reflection. I wouldn't say that I was good looking, but definitely better than before. At least I didn't look as bony as before. Mo sighed again.

"There you go again, frowning at yourself in the mirror. How do you expect to find yourself attractive if you frown every time you look in the mirror?"

"Simple." I turned away from the mirror and faced her. "Not to hard when you're already ugly."

Sabastyan snorted and I turned to face him. "What?"

"You think you are ugly, _krasotka_?" He snorted again, delight spreading across his features. "I haven't heard something so funny in a long while. You?" He looked incredulous. "Ugly? Ha. There are people who would kill if they ever heard your name and ugly in the same sentence."

I scowled. "Why? Do they not want the truth to spread or something?"

All the humor left his features and he looked at me curiously, yet seriously. "No, quite the opposite. I don't think it is even possible for someone _to_ call you ugly after seeing you for the first time. Even before you changed; you were a large, bright diamond among little fake cubic zirconium stones."

I blushed, turning away. "You're making that up."

He stepped closer to me. "I would never. Not to you."

I looked up and met his gaze; for a moment, everything seemed to freeze. The world around us disappeared and it was only him and his bright, icy blue eyes on me. Then someone shifted and I sneezed. Hard.

Then I sneezed again…and kept on sneezing. Sabastyan looked at me in confusion, before looking behind him with a look of realization. Then he began to roar with laughter, doubling over. Even Mo was giggling.

With my sneezing partially in control, I looked up and glared at them. "What's so funny? I go into a sneezing fit and you laugh. And what is that smell? It smells like…" I took a tentative sniff, not wanting to sneeze again. " _wet dog."_

That just made them laugh harder. Ryder wasn't laughing though. He was scowling, glaring at the floor with his arms crossed. Then it hit me.

"Oh… _oh,_ Ryder I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I mean, I did, but I wasn't trying to insult you, I just…"

He looked up at me. "Yeah, I know. Most super naturals with heightened senses, with the exception of werewolves themselves, have the same reaction. It's not your fault."

"But I should've realized."

Sabastyan finally stopped laughing, straightening to look at me with a small smirk. "Yeah, when I first came in and said that I thought that I smelled wet dog…I was serious. Somewhat."

My eyes widened and it took everything in me to hold back my laugh, but a snicker still escaped. Ryder growled, glaring at Sabastyan.

I decided to change the subject. "Okay, what happens now? 'Cause I need to go home and get a change of clothes and tell babushka that I'm fine." Mo gasped and nodded enthusiastically beside me.

Sabastyan nodded. "Yes, then we can talk properly. We should go now." He turned away.

"Wait. First I need something to wear out."

Sabastyan glanced over his shoulder but kept walking, causing me to follow him. "You can wear my cloak."

I scowled. "You're like twice the size of two of me. How the hell am I supposed to wear that thing?"

Mo snorted and leaned closer to my ear. "As if you don't want to snuggle up inn Mr. _Mysterious man's_ big cloak. I bet you his scent is all over it. And don't act like you don't like the way he smells."

I scowled.

In the end, I wore the cloak and I'll admit…it did smell really good. And it was really hard not to snuggle up in it. But I looked like a kid wearing it; the bottom dragged on the ground and the sleeves dangled about a foot past my fingertips.

We all hopped into Sabastyan's Hummer, me and Mo oohing and awwing over the size and Ryder scowling and grumbling about show offs. By habit, I called shot gun and immediately climbed into the front, careful all of the coat was in with me before I slammed the door.

Sabastyan slipped in the driver's seat beside me and started the car, immediately pulling off with a roar of the engine, a smirk tilting his lips. Lips that I can still feel brushing my neck, right before he bit me. I shivered and looked away.

It didn't take long to reach babushka's house; Sabastyan drove just as crazily as Ryder. At least the Hummer has four wheel drive. I hopped out, not feeling queasy at all, nope not one bit, and carefully gathered the coat around myself so that it didn't drag on the ground. Mo sniggered behind me and with as much dignity as I could muster, I walked to the front door, carrying the cloak with me.

It didn't work as well as I wanted it to, since I had to wait for Mo to come open the door. I didn't know where my clothes were at, let alone my keys and wallet. Quietly, Mo pushed the door open and we tip-toed inside. It wasn't necessary, but we mainly did it from habit.

Alas, it was a futile attempt as babushka was sitting in her favorite arm chair, in the living room directly off of the hall way leading from the door. Both me and Mo froze right where we stood, staring wide-eyed at babushka as she glared at us.

I will tell you this, and I will only tell you once. I am _terrified_ of babushka. Not that she wasn't the loving, caring, nicest grandmother in the world, because she was, but when she is angry, she is scarier than a rabid zombie pit bull determined to rip you apart. Yeah, I know. Terrifying.

It didn't help that she was about half my height, which was saying something, and spoke with this gorgeously wonderful Haitian accent that made everything sound musical. But with her chocolate-y brown skin and flying white hair, babushka could make a mercenary cry for his ma.

Ryder stumbled in after us and her glare intensified. I swallowed, watching with impending doom as Sabastyan came into view. But, to my complete surprise by the way, when he appeared, her glare disappeared to be replaced with shock. Her dark gaze passed between me and him, and slowly her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, you poor baby. Come here to grandmamma." She stood, looking at me and holding her arms out. Slightly confused, I walked towards her and let her gather me into her arms, holding me tightly and whispering some crap in Haitian.

Mo sighed in relief and trudged over. Babushka let me go to glare at her.

Mo reeled back in shock. "Why do I get a glare?"

"Because you were not unconscious! You could have called."

"I _was_ unconscious. I was helping Tomas through his change!"

"That _was_ you." I exclaimed, pointing at her. I thought that presence in my head felt familiar.

Babushka only huffed and turned her glare on Ryder. "What is _your_ excuse, boy?"

Ryder flinched, then pointed a finger at Sabastyan. "I was making sure he kept his claws to himself."

Babushka strode forward and smacked in the face. Hard. I stifled a laugh and beside me, Mo was already in tears trying to hold it in.

"You stupid mutt! You know how important it is that they set the bond! You and your stupid rivalry with him will ruin everything. You know they are the Fated."

I blinked. Fated? Who? What is that? "What?"

Babushka turned and glared at Sabastyan. Looked like everyone but me was getting a piece of her mind tonight. "You didn't tell him? One of the most important things, forget everything else, but you fail to tell him this?!"

I blinked again as Sabastyan fidgeted and looked everywhere but at me or babushka. I took a step towards him.

"Sabastyan?" His eyes met mine, then darted away. "What is she talking about?"

He took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well…"

~oOo~

Angrily, I dressed in black jeans and a dark blue tee, throwing my jacket on over it. I stuffed more jeans and tees into my favorite green duffle bag, shoving them in with a curse.

Mo sat on my bed, looking over the clothes I threw in. She added a few things including to what I put in, and took some things out. Her own pink duffle bag was beside her, bulging at the seams. The guys were forbidden to only the living room, after being chewed out by me and Mo both.

I sighed in relief. It seemed like the only ones who knew had been babushka, Ryder and Sabastyan. No matter how much I loved Ryder, I was definitely closer to Mo and it would have killed me if she had kept another secret, especially one that big, from me.

I zipped up my duffel bag and threw it over my shoulder, nodding at Mo. We were leaving. Where we were going, only Sabastyan seemed to know; I had inkling suspicions that babushka knew too.

Mo trailing behind me, I stomped downstairs and back into the living room where babushka sat back in her chair and Ryder and Sabastyan sat slightly squished on the couch, looking extremely uncomfortable. They both stood as I entered.

I shot them a dark glare and Mo whistled as she walked past me to plop down in an arm chair.

She smirked at the two. "You guys fucked up big time, you know."

"Mohea! Language!"

Okay, so you guys are probably wondering; is babushka really Mo's grandmother? I know, after all that happened, it would be expected that she isn't. But she really is. Mo really is an orphan like me, but she had her grandmother to raise her and teach her to use her powers.

As Mo got chastised by babushka for her vulgarity, Sabastyan stepped towards me, a pleading look on his face. I refused to look at him, instead glaring at the wall directly across from me.

"Come on, _krasotka_." It was hard to ignore him with a voice like that, especially since he was the only one who called me by my proper name. "Please, at least hear me out." He stepped closer and I gave one small nod. "Thank you. I-I wanted to tell you before, but I figured that with all that I had already told you, anything else would have been to overwhelming, especially right before your transformation was to occur. Please believe me; I wanted to tell you immediately."

Without my consent, my posture relaxed and I glanced at him. His expression seemed sincere enough; he in fact looked a bit like a puppy who'd just been yelled at for peeing on the floor.

But almost immediately, I tensed right back up and Ryder burst out, stepping forward. "He's lying, Tomas! He-he's a liar." He shot Sabastyan a glare. "If he really wanted to he would have told you."

I glared at him. "Oh, yes, like you have credibility for being honest. If anyone's a liar, it's you." I hissed. "Since the first day we met, you've lied to me."

Ryder took a step back, looking away. At least he had the decency to look ashamed. I huffed in satisfaction and looked back at babushka; she looked back at me with a look of pride.

"Good, my son. You are a leader, just like your mother. She was a wonderfully terrifying woman you know. Short as I am, but as ill-tempered as a pit bull with something stuck in his teeth."

I chuckled. "You knew her then?"

She nodded. "And your father. A quiet man, that one. Always thinking about something. And hair just as thick and wild as yours. But his was much shorter. Your parents were the perfect couple, fitted together like puzzle pieces. And they were a formidable opponent when paired together. They were Fated, just as you and Sabastyan are. And they loved each other dearly, no matter how different they were."

I glanced at Sabastyan, meeting his cold gaze. Though his eyes were made of ice, they held a warm softness when he looked at me. I felt my cheeks heat and looked away, allowing my hair to hide my face.

I should back up. About the Fated thing…so, you know Twilight right? And the whole 'imprinted' thing with the werewolves and shit? Well, the Fated are something like that, except it's not love at first sight and we aren't completely infatuated with each other from the get-go. Well…we were…I was…umm…but that's not the point.

But, now that the contact between us was initiated, we pretty much had to be near each other and if we went to long without touching, shit gets real. First, we get all Squidward crappy and grumpy and our whole day sucks. And it slowly gets worse and we get more violent, till it reaches an extremely painful point. Most never got to that point; it was foolish to do so, almost suicidal. But I could understand where people who _did_ let it get to that point came from.

Imagine the person you hate the most in the world was your Fated? You wouldn't want to be _near_ him, let alone _touch_ him. And then here's the catcher: the more you touch, the more you crave, and the more…intimate you want it.

I already fucked myself from the beginning. Or rather, _Sabastyan_ fucked us both. I'll have you recall chapter 4, at the beginning somewhere. A man who walks up and starts dancing with me; none other than Sabastyan, of course I didn't know that at the time, but he _clearly_ knew who I was. As much as I regret to say it, our first interaction was definitely intimate and that just set us up for wanting _more_ than that initial contact.

I wasn't sure if I was even close to being in a relationship yet, especially one so serious, and it was one with a _guy._ Hello! Non-gay guy here. I sighed. I didn't know what to do anymore.

"I still think you guys should stay the night before you go." Babushka said. "It's late and you all must be exhausted from not getting any sleep caring for Tomas."

I looked up. "That reminds me…how long was I out?"

Sabastyan, Mo, and Ryder shared a look. Finally, Mo stepped up but hesitated.

"Now, don't freak, Tomas."

I rolled my eyes at her. "I don't _freak."_

"Yes, you do. Now promise me."

"Yeah yeah yeah."

"…You were out for a week."

My eyes nearly popped out. "A _week?_ A fucking week? Are you kidding me? What the fuck?" I ranted, pacing angrily. Unbeknownst to myself, they told me later once I calmed down, I was pacing at vampiric speed. "Why did it take so long? Is that why I was so weak when I woke up?"

"Tomas, calm down."

I whirled on Sabastyan. "Don't tell me to calm down! I was out for a week! What the hell?"

"You're freaking out."

"I am _not."_ I started pacing again.

Sabastyan quickly grabbed me by my shoulders, pulling me to a stop and indirectly closer to him. He leaned down to look in my eyes. "You are. Breath for a second. Look at you; you're fangs are out."

My eyes widened and I quickly skimmed my tongue over my teeth. Surely enough, my canines were elongated and were extremely thin, but crazy sharp. Another set of canines, behind the first, were bigger but blunter. I sucked in a sharp gasp, looking up to meet Sabastyan's gaze.

"I have…"

"Yes, I do too." Half of his upper lip lifted in a snarl, which I admittedly-though not aloud-thought was sexy, to show his own double pair of fangs, slightly bigger than mine. "In due time, you will learn to control them, but for now they react to your emotions. I knew you were freaking out, because almost immediately they came out when you started ranting _krasotka_."

I sighed, flexing my hands. "Okay, maybe I was. A little. Only a little."

The corners of his eyes crinkled with his smile. "And you are fine now, no?"

I hesitated before returning it with a small smile of my own. "Yeah."

A sound beside me and I remembered that it wasn't just me in him in the room. That's scary; how easy it was for me to get caught up in his presence. I turned to see Ryder glaring at Sabastyan (nothing new) and snarling, and babushka and Mo looking at us with an 'awe' look on their faces. My smile dropped and I stepped back from Sabastyan, glaring at them.

Sabastyan allowed me to step back, his hands-which I only just remembered were on my shoulders, slipped to his sides. Weirdly enough, I suddenly felt cold at the lost. I shivered and he noticed, sending me a look of understanding before turning to babushka.

"To answer your question, it would unfortunately be the best if we left now. We have to get there as soon as possible to begin Tomas' training before he kills someone, or himself."

"Hey!"

"It's true." Mo piped up. "You could have an accidental burst of magic. Or, if not properly prepared, you could go on a bloodlust killing spree. Anything could happen, really." She shrugged.

"Yes, thanks for the vote of confidence in my abilities." I deadpanned.

She smirked. "You don't even know what you can do, Tomas."

"Well, I'm damn sure going to find out, aren't I?"

Sabastyan clapped his hands together. "Well, that solves everything. Let's go; we have a long way."


	7. Sabastyan

IMPORTANT authors note at the bottom READ IT

I glanced at Tomas, asleep beside me in the passenger seat and wrapped up in my coat. It was the calmest I ever seen him, and even then he was still tense. I wanted to pull over and rub the crease between his brows away; the knots in his shoulders, neck, and back. To allow his full beauty to be released from the tension.

No matter how he denied it, Tomas was a beauty among beauties. As a vampire, I end up spending majority of my time around beautiful people, other vampires. At some point, I grew immune to it.

But the first time I seen Tomas in the flesh, in that club, sitting by himself nursing a martini and looking somewhat pissed, I was captivated. The way the lights flashed across his face, illuminating it perfectly, the way his hair tumbled down his back, the fire in his eyes, the way his clothes hugged his fit form. I was immediately drunk from his appearance.

It was almost too easy to slip behind him once Mohea managed to get him on the dance floor. I reveled in the way his body immediately relaxed to mine, molding perfectly with no pressure needing to be applied. And the way he danced…oh,  _god_ the way he danced. He was so perfect in every way.

And then he pulled away from me, turning around. I finally got a close up on his face; he was ethereal in his beauty. It is truly indescribable how beautiful he was. And his voice; so soft, so husky, with the smallest Russian lilt to it. I was captivated.

I knew he was my Fated since a child. I have a box of pictures of his growth, slowly aging and growing into the beautiful man he was today. They were all I had of him until recently and I cherished them dearly.

A small moan had me looking at Tomas. He shifted, slowly waking, and suddenly those beautiful moonstone eyes blinked open and immediately looked at me. My heart soared but I did well to hide it on my face; I could tell that our relationship was going to be extremely, excruciatingly slow. Instead, I gave him a small smile. He blinked, hesitating before returning it with a more sleepy one.

He sat up and glanced behind him, at Mohea and Ryder who were asleep in the back. Then his musical voice filled the car. "They're still sleeping huh? I guess they must really tired." His statement was punctuated with a yawn. "We've been driving for a long time…you must be tired."

I kept my eyes on the road. "Mmm. I'm a vampire; sleep is…a rare occurrence. We sleep every once a month at the most."

"I'm a vampire, and I've slept a lot."

"You're a  _half_ vampire. Though powerful, witches are still human with human tendencies. Some of them will be lessened, due to your vampire blood, but many of your basic needs will be present."

A moment of silence, then: "What about…emotions?"

I glanced at him as he fiddled with my coat. "To tell you that, I have to tell a bit of background on vampires."

He shrugged, a half smile forming. "We got time."

I chuckled. "Indeed we do." I flexed my fingers around the steering wheel. "I won't lie to you; vampires are definitely more animalistic than humans. But that is only because we use more of our brain, which includes our more instinctive parts. It's the same as humans, just more intense. And our fight-or-flight trigger is easier to access. Everything else is pretty much the same, our needs to eat, sleep, mate, shit, everything. We are just more prone to acting out on them in a more…intense way than humans."

"And this makes us animals?"

"In the human opinion. You see, because we tend to rely more heavily on our instinctual nature, our emotions to things aren't as prominent. In time, you may possibly lose your ability to feel empathy and-or sympathy, and if it isn't something like anger, happiness, or extreme sadness, you will basically be on a more instinctual level than emotional."

Tomas nodded. "I get it, but what about things like love? I mean, my parents fell in love, right?"

"Well, for starters, your parents were Fated. And vampires can fall in love, it's just extremely difficult and many don't seem to see the point in trying to. It can happen though."

"Oh…what do if we're, you know, in public and I go vamp on everyone?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Go vamp?"

He blushed. "Answer the question!"

"Easy, you can't go into public places until you learn to control it."

He sat up. "What?"

I grinned. "Great incentive, isn't it?"

"Uh,  _no._ if you hadn't noticed, I don't exactly have any  _clothes_ on."

"Clothes will be provided for you."

"No offense, but I'm not walking around wearing black all day. If you hadn't noticed, I'm as pale as Death."

"I'm just as pale as you are and black isn't the only thing they have at HQ. I just happen to like it."

"You are not just as pale as I am and you're hot so you'd look good in anything."

I smirked at him. "You think I'm hot?"

He froze, not even breathing, and stared at me wide-eyed. The prettiest blush slowly crept up his cheeks and he began to sputter.

"I—…I'm not—…I didn't mean—."

"No, it's okay. You obviously like what you see." I winked at him. "It's not a problem."

His face went red and he gaped at me for a second before huffing and falling back into his seat, arms crossed. Aw, he was so cute to tease. The blush slowly began to fade from his cheeks and he looked out the window with a far-away expression. The small crease between his brows deepened and he looked like he was thinking hard about something.

After a moment of silence, I grinned. "What, no more questions?"

He glanced at me in surprise. "No, I was just thinking. And I kind of thought that you'd get annoyed if I keep on asking questions."

I smiled softly, glancing at him. "I'll never get annoyed with you over something so trivial. And I can never get over hearing your voice."

"Okay, okay lovebirds. Break it up. Or at least get a goddamned room." A groggy voice came from the back. Mohea was awake.

I grinned as Tomas blushed and looked away, mumbling.

~oOo~

HQ. Not the best looking place from the outside, but its super high-tech inside would astound anyone and everyone. Which is why I couldn't help but chuckle at Tomas' expression as it went from dubious to awed. I was used to it already, having grown up there and all.

It was hard to laugh as he gawked at all the gizmos, gadgets and more as I led him through the halls. It wasn't even the good stuff, just crap people dropped to get later or junk. I wonder want his reaction would be if I took them to the war room. He'd probably freak from all the random weapons people left in there, just in case they said. For now, though, I had to settle with taking them to the Office.

Loud stomping sounded down the hall and I sighed. Well, that totally fucked up my plans. A woman with fiery red hair and a blue glare that could kill, literally, appeared in front of us, scowling.

"Sebastian!" I winced at the incorrect pronunciation of my name, 15 years and still no one but the other vampires said my name right…except for Tomas, of course.

"Yes, Cammi?"

"Where the fuck have you been?! You  _know_ how important it is that we find Natasha and James' son! You  _know—."_

I cleared my throat and widened my eyes at her, nodding in Tomas' direction. Tomas, who was looking at her with his eyebrow arched and a badly controlled smirk on his face. She whirled to glare at him, only for her eyes to widen and she gasped. I sighed. The people I work with.

"Oh, my gods. It's  _you._ Oh, look at you; you look just like your mother. Just as gorgeous as she was." Cammi gushed. Tomas' face scrunched and he stepped away from her, glancing at me. Mohea rolled her eyes.

"Nice to see you, too, Cammi. You know, we were with him the whole time and all."

Cammi turned to glare at Mohea. "Yes, and I know all about your postponing from telling the kid the truth. Poor thing was probably terrified to know what was happening to him, just at the last second. I ought to have you terminated from your position."

Mohea bared her teeth. "Try it and I will hunt you down and make you suffer."

Cammi stepped closer, magic crackling around her fingers. "You wanna see who's the better witch, then?"

Mohea smirked. "Oh, I know who's the bigger bitch." Cammi's eyes darkened with anger and Tomas stepped between the two before they could jump each other.

"Ladies, chill. Whatever beef you two have, deal with it later. I highly doubt that now is the time for fighting—."

"Interesting you say that, Princess." Tomas tensed and the already overwhelming smell of wet dog doubled. I grimaced and covered my mouth, hiding a cough. I turned and saw one of the mutts—I don't remember any of their names; I only know Ryder's through circumstance—walking towards us. Tomas also turned and hissed low, his expression murderous.

"What are  _you_ doing here?"

The mutt spread his arms. "I know you can smell me, Princess. What do you  _think_ I'm doing here?"

Tomas snarled. "Don't  _call_ me that!"

The mutt smirked and walked closer, getting in Tomas' face. I wanted to grab the bastard and bash his face in but refrained. This was Tomas' battle. "What're you going to do about it," He grabbed Tomas by the front of his shirt. " _Princess."_

It was more than likely that the mutt attempted to lift Tomas, if going by the way his muscles bunched, but Tomas didn't budge an inch. The mutt looked down in confusion.

"What the—?"

Anger flashed across Tomas' features and, in a burst of vampiric speed, grabbed the mutt and slammed him into the wall. He got into the mutt's face, snarling. "Listen, you stupid shit." His voice was deep with a growl and he didn't sound much like himself. I loved the sound of it. "If you call me Princess one more  _fucking_ time, I will shove my hand into your stomach and rip out your fucking guts and force you to  _eat them."_

He cocked his fist back and punched the mutt in the face, nose breaking under his fist. He released the mutt and stepped back as the mutt grabbed his nose, blood gushing out, and ran. Ryder snarled as the mutt ran by, shoving him to the side.

"Get back to the fucking pack, you idiot."

Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten Ryder was a part of a pack. He was such a loser that I'd forgotten. I wonder how big that pack has gotten; last I heard they were thirty strong and that was two years ago. Wolves in heat fucked like rabbits so that number has probably doubled. I wasn't keen on finding out.

"Ugh, what the hell?" Tomas made a face of distaste. "What the hell is  _Mcmiller_ doing here?"

Ryder shrugged. "He's a part of the rebellion."

"He won't be for long, if he keeps antagonizing Tomas the way he's been doing." Mo snickered.

Cammi was uncharacteristically silent the whole time. When I turned to her, her face was pale and she was gaping at Tomas. He noticed her staring and scowled.

"Problem?" She paled further and shook her head. "Then stop fucking staring at me."

She swallowed hard and turned to me, clearing her throat. "The  _Scion_ probably wants to see all of you."

I nodded. "Yeah, I was actually on my way there when you appeared."

She blinked. "Oh…um, well then…I'll see you later."

"See ya." I gestured for Tomas to continue following me. Ryder and Mohea already knew the way, but HQ was like a labyrinth—again, for safety reasons—and Tomas could get easily lost. Knowing him, he'd walk around until he bumped into somebody and news about him being here would spread quicker than wild fire.

We reached the entrance to the Office without any more interruptions. The Office was nothing more than the office and rooms of the  _Scion,_ who only came out from there when serious war plans were going down, in the war room. Tomas gaped at the doors leading into the Office. I had the same reaction the first time I saw them, and I was a lot smaller than him at the time.

The double doors were huge, literally from floor to ceiling, and made completely of inch thick wood. Intricate designs spread up both doors; the curls and swoops forming flowers, and vines, and tress, and other things nature related. It didn't have any doorknobs; to open it there was a special password that, when spoken, caused the doors to open. Every week, the  _Scion_ sent a new password to those who were faithful by telepathy.

I grinned and stepped around Tomas to stand in front of the doors. " _Fatum Consumit."_

There was a creak and the doors opened with a loud groan. I glanced at Tomas; his jaw was dropped and his eyes bulging out in a comical expression. Mohea and Ryder's expressions were unimpressed. They've went into the Office almost as many times as I have and were pretty much used to it. I gestured for us to go in.

The room was just as dark and smoky as it always was; the  _Scion_ liked to burn incense like crazy. She turned when we were all fully inside and the door was shut.

The  _Scion…_ wasn't like anyone else. She wasn't witch, or vampire, or werewolf. Actually, no one was sure just exactly what she was. We just knew that she was really strong, really old, and really pissed. At those in the war, that is. She's the one who created the rebellion. Some say she's a goddess. It would be liable, given her strength and beauty. You can't really  _look_ at her face, but you always get the impression of a very beautiful person. And depending on her mood, you can get the impression of her facial  _expression._ Not her face, though.

Like now, I could tell that she was smiling at Tomas as she came towards him. He stood stock still as she slowly cupped his cheeks in her palms. I could see his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard.

"Tomas." The  _Scion's_ voice was soft and breezy, but carried throughout the room. " _Tomas._ You're here, finally. Welcome home."

He scratched the back of his neck, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. "Yeah, thanks, but…who are you?"

A/N: so…about  _TLoTVK_ —this story—it's gonna be a lot shorter than I planned bc I made a couple of changes. There's probably only gonna be one or two chapters after this one. I decided to make it into a series; the Hybrid series. So if want to continue reading this—which you probably will bc me and cliffhangers are best friends and you can guarantee the last chapter will end in a cliffhanger—then the next story is  _The Life of Alekzander James Sascha._ If you notice, it's not from Tomas' point of view, but I will tell you now, it will be just as good.

Peace out~~


	8. The Prophecy

I jumped as everyone started laughing. What the hell was so funny? And why couldn’t I look this lady in the face? And her hands were fucking _freezing._ Oh my god, why can’t I look at her face?! Her tickling laugh faded and I got the… _feeling_ that she was smiling at me.

“I am the _Scion,_ young one. Leader of the revolution against the war.”

Sabastyan snorted. “You humble yourself, my lady.”

She turned to him. “Sometimes being humble is better than being prideful, young vampire, and it can also save you in times of need.”

He bowed his head. “My apologies, my lady.”

“No need, Sabastyan. In your case, a lot more pride and confidence in your abilities will take you much farther than you believe is your limit. Stop restricting yourself.”

“Yes, my lady.”

She turned back to me. “Now, Tomas…you must be very tired after such a long night. Many things have been learned since your birthday, have they not.”

“Well, yeah…”

“Good. It is a beautiful thing; learning something new.” She turned away and made towards her desk. “I will leave you to rest. Tomorrow, all of you return to me and, together, we will learn even more.”

The others bowed and I hastily followed their lead. Sabastyan quickly ushered me out, calling out a goodnight to the _Scion_. Once we were down the hall, Mo and Ryder said their goodnights and went off to do their own thing—the latter a bit reluctant—leaving me with Sabastyan. He looked down and smiled at me, gently pressing my back to guide me forward.

“I’ll take you to your room, and then come get you tomorrow. This place is a labyrinth, built as to prevent anyone from successfully infiltrating it. You could get lost very easily.”

I nodded. “So, no middle of the night explorations for me, huh?”

He chuckled. “Not one. Try to keep your curiosity to a low, yes? I would hate it if you got lost and…” He growled a bit. “Not everyone here is completely pure, you know. Watch your back, Tomas.”

“Duly noted.” I couldn’t help the passing thought of Sabastyan being completely and utterly hot when he growled. I mean, shiver much? “Though I know you’ll probably be there, behind me, breathing down my neck…scaring away everyone anyway.”

The man raised a brow, but gave a low, deep laugh nonetheless. “I probably will and love every minute of it…if you let me, that is.”

It was clearly a question and I had to ponder on how to respond. Okay, maybe I did just a little itty bit have a small tiny bit of attraction for Sabastyan and I did enjoy his company a lot more than I probably should. I bit my lip. He was just so…so…Nn. Perfect. I mean, no one’s perfect and all, and Sabastyan apparently had some issues if I translated whatever it was the _Scion_ said to him correctly, but even those imperfections seemed to enhance his awesomeness.

You can’t blame me, seriously. He was even better looking than Ryder, though I loathe to admit it. What with those sculpted features and stone hard abs…I mean, I even got off to the guy! Something I’ve never done with Ryder. In fact, now that I think about it, there were plenty of things that happened with Sabastyan that never happened with Ryder. Like the dancing, the jacking off, the sleeping in his jacket, and now the veiled flirting.

“Tomas?” The light touch on me cheek made me jump and stare wide-eyed at Sabastyan, who pulled his hand away with a raised brow. “Chill out, eh? You’ve been really tense since…well, probably since you woke up. You’re safe here, okay?”  His smiled softly at me, eyes melting into a gentle river. “I _will_ protect you. Even if it costs my life.”

My eyes widened. “Well, you don’t have to go that far, you know…”

“But I want to…” He stared at me for a second, his expression unreadable, before turning away, to the door I only just noticed. “Here’s your room, I guess.”

He opened the door and stepped aside to let me go in first. It was okay, I guess. A lot better than the orphanage, you know. A bed pushed to a wall with a simple blanket, a dresser pushed to another wall, and a door to the side that probably led to a bathroom. It was very simple, plain. I expected no less. In the movies, the little rebellious groups and stuff never had much. To stay undercover, you know. Sabastyan stepped up behind me, the door closing on its own, and scratched the back of his neck.

“It’s not much, but you can decorate it however you like. Beside, you won’t be spending much time in here; mostly just to sleep. Most of your day you will be training or studying.”

“Studying?” I frowned. “For what?”

“The war. The customs of the other races. Simple stuff, so don’t get all grumpy on me.”     

I scowled. “I’m not _grumpy._ Don’t call me grumpy. _”_

He grinned. “Okay, grumpy.”

“…Shut up.” I growled and he laughed at me.

“Okay, grumpy.”

“Why you…” I growled again and leapt at him, making him stumble back in surprise.

“Woah…” We stumbled back into the wall and his arms went around my waist, keeping me from falling hard on my ass, but also pulling me against his body. My hands automatically tightened on his shirt, clutching at his back.

I looked up and our eyes met, sending a bolt of…something down my body, making me shiver. Sabastyan’s icy blue eyes darkened and his fingers flexed around my hips, pulling me impossibly closer to him. My cheeks flamed as I felt every hard contour of his body and my breath hitched as my heart skipped a beat.

“S—Sabastyan…”

He visibly swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and his eyes darkened to a near black, blending with his pupils. “Tomas…”

His voice was deeper than usual and I had to repress a shudder. “You’re…holding me…”

“Yeah, I am.” His hands tightened. I was going to have bruises if he kept this up.

“You…you should like…let me go.”

“What if I don’t want to?” He whispered, tilting his head closer to mine.

I swallowed. “I—I…um…wait…”

He chuckled and leaned even closer, his breath washing over my lips as he spoke. “Yes?”

“F—fuck…”

“Fuck?” His head tilted to the side as he looked down at me with dark, inquiring eyes, leaning even closer to me. I can’t believe I was allowing this. “Tomas…”

“Y—yes?”

“Can I kiss you?” He breathed.

I stopped breathing completely and even my heart stopped beating for a moment. My body simply froze in shock. Not because of the question, but because…because I wanted to say yes. I _wanted_ Sabastyan to kiss me. I wanted to feel his lips on mine, for him to kiss me hard and long, to leave me breathless and wanting more…I wanted _all_ of it. But…do I dare to say yes? Would that…make me fully gay? I wasn’t but yet I wanted to kiss him. Wasn’t because of that stupid bond thing or whatever that we had? Or was simply because _I_ wanted to? 

“Tomas…?”

Sabastyan sounded like he _really_ wanted to. He’s been really patient with me since the beginning, dealing with my mood swings and all my crap without complaint. His presence was calming and yet dangerous at the same time and I could hardly resist the alluring aura he emitted with no thought. I bit my lip, looking up at him from under my lashes.

“I don’t know, can you?”

His eyes darkened with humor and his lips twisted into a smirk. “I think I can.”

I arched a brow, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach. “Well then, what are you waiting for?”

He grinned and shot down quickly, pressing his lips to mine in a hard kiss. He slowly eased up, making the kiss gentler, slower. It was…amazing. I could feel little shots of electricity starting from my lips and going down my body. His tongue slid out and gently rubbed across my lips, asking for entrance. Making a split-decision, I moaned, granting him entrance, then moaned louder—much to my dismay, the sound was a little lewd—when the wet muscle touched mine. 

We kissed until I had to pull away and catch my breath. Sabastyan looked at me with heavy-lidded eyes, his pupils blown so wide that only a thin ring of silvery-blue was noticeable. I swallowed hard as he slowly licked his lips, his hot gaze dragging slowly over my body. His arms tightened around my waist.

“ _Krasotka_ , my beautiful Tomas.” He reached up and caressed my cheek with the tips of his fingers. I found myself leaning into the touch. “ _Yebat_ , I love you so fucking much.”

“You—.” My breath hitched as I stared, wide eyed. Sabastyan smiled softly at me.

“Yes, Tomas. I love you. And not because we’re Fated. I know this will sound weird, but I’ve known practically everything about you before we even met. I’ve waited so long to be face-to-face with you like this. I love you with every fiber in my being, Tomas, and it’s okay if you don’t feel the same right now. For you, you barely even know me and a lot is going on, I understand. But I just wanted you to know how I feel.”

Oh. My. God. This is so fucking insane. How could someone like Sabastyan like ugly ol’ bitchy me? I just didn’t understand. He deserved someone way better than me. I mean, I’m technically this hybrid thing that shouldn’t even exist. I looked up when he ran his hand through my hair.

“Tomas, stop thinking so hard about it. I love you, and that’s that. In my eyes, you are absolutely perfect. I could ask for nothing better. Okay?”

I nodded slowly. “Okay.”

He smiled. “Now I am going to kiss you again, okay?”

“Yep.”

~oOo~

The next morning I woke up content in Sabastyan’s arms. I didn’t even feel the need to freak out because I was in bed with another guy who wasn’t Ryder. God, me and Ryder never slept this close before. It made me wonder what it would feel like. Then I felt guilty, because I now had Sabastyan. I knew how he felt about me, but with Ryder…everything was an enigma.

My fidgeting must’ve caused Sabastyan to wake up, because all of a sudden his arms tightened around me and he let out a huge yawn. I watched as his nose crinkled and he slowly opened his eyes. They were soft and warm with sleep, somehow softening even further when he looked down at me. He smiled sleepily.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

He leaned down and nosed my hair, taking a long whiff. “How’d you sleep?”

“Pretty good, actually. How ‘bout you?”

“Great.” His smile was blindingly huge and he suddenly swooped down to kiss me. I blinked up at him when he pulled away.

“What was that for?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just happy ‘s all.” He suddenly sat up. “We should get up if we’re going to get breakfast and go see the _Scion_ on time.”

By the time we got dressed, met up with Mo and Ryder, and ate, we were late. Not too late, but who knew if the _Scion_ would be mad or not if we weren’t punctual? Either way, we practically ran all the way to her office, only to find her sitting serenely, drinking tea.

“Ah.” She sat her teacup down. “Glad you all could make it. Now, Tomas, come join me.”

I glanced at Sabastyan as she stood and straightened her dress. He nodded at me and gave me a gentle push forward. I swallowed and stepped towards her. I got the feeling that she was smiling at me, but I really couldn’t tell. She stood, holding a thick scroll, in which she handed to me.

“I think that this probably belongs to you.”

“Me?” I looked at the scroll incredulously. Why would it belong to me?

She nodded. “Once, a long time ago, I had a prophetic vision. I wrote it down on that scroll and sealed it, even as I still was in the vision. As soon as the vision ended, I remembered nothing of it, nor what I wrote on that scroll. I also found that I could not open it. I was very bewildered, but something told me that it was for a very important someone who I would meet later in life and so I kept it. Now again, something is telling me to give it to you.”   

I shook my head and tried to give it back to her. “No, if you couldn’t open it, then why would I be able to?”

“Because you are the one.” She gently pushed it back towards me. “Now open it.”

Shrugging, I went to unwind the scroll. As soon as I touched the edge, I felt a sharp stinging pain on my right fingers and pulled back to see that on every fingertip I had a papercut. Before I could register what just happened, the scroll began to unwind itself and words were slowly appearing, as if an invisible hand was writing them.

 

 **From three Seasons, once lost**  
are born three Revelations.  
The fourth Season brings  
what You seek most.  
  


 **Vampire and Witch**  
become One in Winter.  
Witch and Werewolf  
become One in Spring.  
Werewolf and Vampire  
become One in Summer.  
Follows then in Fall  
All races, together.  
  
By Solstice, beware  
time passes quick.  
By fourth Season You will find  
what You seek most.

I blinked twice at the blood red words on the paper. Shit.

Apparently, I wasn’t alone in this shindig.


End file.
